


Sixteen Candles

by conventionalweapons (aconventionalweapon)



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-05-18 08:17:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5912116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aconventionalweapon/pseuds/conventionalweapons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just your typical Sixteen Candles based fanfic. Vampires, Vampires, and more Vampires.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"HEY PETE! PETE!" I turned around to see a familiar short, blonde running towards me. His familiar baseball cap being held on by one of his hands and his dark blue sweat jacket flying out behind him. 

"What's up Patrick?" He smiled and bent over, huffing as he tried to regain his breath. 

"Did…did you hear about…the vampire attacks?" He glanced up at me and I raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't hear about it? They…they attacked the Urie family last night." 

"Brendon Urie's family?" He nodded frantically and then grabbed my hand and led me to the school's newsroom, where a crowd of people was gathering outside the open door. We looked up at the TV screen that was in the corner of the room. There were images of a house with its door ripped halfway off the hinges and its windows smashed, the images changed to live footage of sheet covered bodies being rushed out of the house on gurneys. Then the camera turned to show a distraught, pale faced, bloody twenty year old boy sitting in the back of an ambulance being checked over by three paramedics. His name was Brendon and he had been a pretty popular guy when he was in his senior year here. Right now he was hardly the same brave boy he had been. His face was white as a ghost and his eyes stared blankly out into space, his neck bleeding profusely but not phasing him.

"Poor Brendon." Patrick whispered beside me and I nodded in agreement. "Vampires are such horrible creatures. Can't believe that the cops haven't done anything about them." It's true, the cops in the city couldn't stand up against the vampires because they were so much faster and stronger so they just gave up on trying and focused on only the human criminals. "I wish we could do something to help Pete…I don't like just sitting around and watching people get killed right and left."

"What can we do Pat…if the police can't do anything about it then I'm pretty sure a couple of high schoolers can't do much more." I put my hands in my pockets and turned to walk to my first class of the day, mythology…kind of a new requirement the schools established. I heard Patrick catch up to me and we walked in silence to first period. 

"Ah look who decided to show up fifteen minutes late. Pete, Patrick I'm warning you if you show up late to my class again I will have to give you both detention." I just rolled my eyes as I passed by the teacher and went to my desk, sighing as I sat down in between two of the school's bullies. Great seat am I right? I looked across the classroom at Patrick, he was sitting next to one of the nerdiest boys in our entire senior year, lucky duck. 

"What's up faggot?" Josh, the asshole on my left, breathed into my ear. 

"Not much gorgeous." I spat back, knowing it would get his temper to rise. I wasn't in to guys but I sure as hell knew how to act like I was. 

"What did you say to me?" His voice raised above a whisper slightly. 

"I called you gorgeous, did you not here me the first time babe?" He had a look of disgust on his face as he recoiled away from me. 

"You dumb faggot! Go fuck your boyfriend Patrick!" He growled and I just cocked my head and looked at him innocently. 

"I thought you were my boyfriend babe? I mean by the way you breathe into my ear all the time it makes me think you've got a thing for me." I smirked and took my left hand and brushed it up his right thigh and that caused him to jump up out of his chair and I quickly retracted my hand and looked down at my work then back up at him with a confused expression so everyone would think I was just as confused as they were. 

"Josh, you have something you want to say?" The teacher, Mr. Collins, folded his arms over his chest and glared at Josh. 

"THIS GAY FAGGOT IS FEELING ME UP!" He shouted and I raised an eyebrow at him, putting on my best 'I'm totally fucking confused' face. 

"Uh huh sure he was, because Pete really loves you guys so damn much." This was why I loved Mr. Collins as a teacher, he stuck up for the underdog. Best teacher ever. "Pete?"

"Why would I lay a hand on that stupid fuck?" I said and the class erupted into laughter and Josh looked infuriated. "Here's the real question…would you like me to feel you up? Is that what you day dream about every day?" More laughter and a huge smirk spread across my face as Josh's face turned bright red. Next thing I knew though I was on the ground, smashed between two desks in the aisle and Mr. Collins was screaming and yelling. I shook my head trying to remember what happened. I moved to get up and when I moved my jaw as I breathed out heavily there was a huge sudden rush of pain. "Fuck." I whispered and stood up. I looked at Mr. Collins who was shouting at Josh. My anger flared up and I ran across the room and slammed right into Josh, knocking him to the ground. I jumped on him, straddling his waist and then pulled my right hand back and slammed it into the side of his face. 

"PETE! PETER LEWIS KINGSTON WENTZ!" I heard Mr. Collins shouting at me. I kept slamming him in the face though, taking out all my built up anger towards Josh out on him finally. 

"PETE! PETE!" I felt a pair of arms slip around my chest and yank me backwards off of Josh. I kicked a nearby table over on him and smirked as it landed right on Josh's chest. I looked up at the person who had yanked me off of him and realized it was Patrick. He let me go and then went to his desk and grabbed his backpack and left the class. I stood up and grabbed all my shit and stormed out of the room after him. I caught up to Pat and walked silently alongside him. "You're an idiot Pete. He would have gotten in trouble and now you're going to as well. Seriously, do you ever think these things through?" Patrick didn't look at me, he just sighed and rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll see you after detention." He sped up and I stopped walking, looking after his huddled form pushing its way through the crowd. I always fucked things up and Patrick was always there to tell me I was wrong and I thanked him for being honest with me. I sighed and pulled my hood up on my hoodie and put my hands in my pockets and trudged off to detention. 

It was relatively quiet in the detention room, except for the occasional giggle as another spitball was launched at the back of my head, hitting my hoodie before falling to the floor. I sighed and slumped forwards more, resting my chin on my arms. A hand grabbed my arm suddenly and yanked me upwards. I turned to face the owner of the hand and saw it was Josh again. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Seriously, I know you have a gay crush on me but this is taking it a little far." 

"How'd you know?" He whispered. I looked to the teacher who was watching the detention class and he just seemed amused. Fucking bastard. 

"Know what? About your little crush on me?" I teased again and smirked, trying to get a rise out of him but his grip just loosened a bit, something I wasn't expecting. He pushed me back against the wall near me and closed the distance between us. His face dangerously close to mine, I had to hold back the urge to spit in his eye now that I could. 

"Yes." My heart jumped and I started to struggle against him. He just grabbed my arms and held them down to my sides as he pressed his body against mine, I shut my eyes and turned my face away. 

"DUDE I WAS JUST KIDDING!" I screamed out but he grabbed my face and made me look at him then he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against mine, forcefully kissing me. I struggled and broke one of my arms free and slammed it into his chest. He staggered back and I quickly ran across the room. He just stared at me in shock, lucky for him we were the only two people in the room for detention today. "I'M FUCKING STRAIGHT DUDE!" 

"But in class…" He began but stopped. 

"I was just trying to fuck with you! I wasn't trying to come on to you!" I tried to control my breathing but I was just too shocked to slow it down. He looked hurt and pissed at the same time. He stood there for a moment, staring at the floor before he looked up at me, fury burning in his eyes. He clenched his fist and started walking towards me and I tried to move away but only ended up stuck in a corner. Nice one Wentz! You fucking idiot! I closed my eyes as he pulled back his fist and I heard it connect with something but it wasn't me. I squinted one eye open and saw his fist against the wall. 

"You fucking tell anyone that I am attracted to you and I will murder you. Got it?" I just nodded quickly even though I desperately wanted to punch him in the fucking face right then. He backed away and turned, heading to the back of the room and sitting down at a desk, burying his face in his hands. I sat down at the front of the room as far from him as I could get and glanced at the teacher who was calmly reading a porno magazine. The fuck? I slammed my head down on the desk.


	2. Chapter 2

"Uuuuggggghhhhh…" I sighed and waited for the bell to ring and about five minutes later it did. I practically ran out of the room and down the hall towards the parking lot where I would meet Patrick and his new friends, Joe and Andy. I avoided several more of the school bullies by ducking through openings in the throng of teenagers. I finally caught sight of the short blonde and I snuck up behind him, quickly grasping his shoulders and making him jump.

"JESUS PETE! Not funny!" He gasped but then laughed at bit. I looked at Joe and Andy. 

"Hey guys. What's up?" I smiled at the both of them and they just kind of shrugged. They were both very quiet…actually all three of them were relatively quiet. Patrick only talked to me when he really wanted to but I didn't mind…they'd been through a lot. Our little group, apart from me, were victims of loss. Joe's father had been murdered by a vampire a few years back and Andy's mother had been raped by one and had to be taken to a mental hospital afterwards. Patrick, well Patrick had it the worst…he lost everything. His whole family was obliterated by a gang of vampires while he was in Virginia on vacation. I was the only one who was lucky enough to have not lost anyone to those monsters yet. I quickly knocked on the nearest wood object, a tree, as we walked to the car. It was an old black car, Joe's in fact, and I didn't know what kind and could really care less. We clambered into the vehicle and started driving towards the downtown area. "What're we doing tonight?" I asked as we moved deeper into the city. 

"Something new." Joe whispered as he glanced up at buildings as we putted through the city on some back road. 

"Yeah and what does this new thing entail?" I asked, growing increasingly nervous with each passing second. 

"Andy found an abandoned warehouse. We're gonna use it and have a stake out tonight." Pat said nonchalantly and my jaw dropped and my eyes widened. 

"WHAT?! HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY MENTAL!? WE CAN'T BE OUT HERE AFTER DARK!" I shouted. What the hell were they thinking!? We'd be found and killed out here! 

"Shut up Pete. Stop being such a baby and grow up." Patrick snapped and I immediately shut my mouth, unaware that I had been hyperventilating. 

"There it is Joe on the right, just pull up to the door and I'll open it and you can drive in." Andy spoke quietly, barely inaudible, but Joe nodded and turned the car and parked in front of the huge metal door. Andy went inside a side door and in a matter of seconds the big metal door was rolling up and Joe drove the car inside. Andy shut the door behind us and we hesitantly got out of the car. I stuck close to them, I was admittedly afraid of being out after hours. Any sane person would be when you lived in a town infested with vampires. They were walking calmly through the building, observing random piles of boxes and breaking a few open to see what was inside. 

"This is pretty neat." Patrick whispered as his fingers ghosted over another unopened box. 

"Yeah, I was looking for somewhere to go in case something ever happened again. I thought this place would be pretty damn safe since its metal and all, no windows either." Andy spoke as he shoved his hands down into his pockets. I just listened to them ramble on, my heart pounding a mile a minute and my eyes searching all the dark spaces for any sign of movement. 

"Pete, would you please stop walking on my heels." I looked to Pat and didn't say anything. "You're really scared aren't you?" 

"WELL DUH! HELLO! We're in some creepy abandoned warehouse and you guys want to stay here all night with no form of protection or anything. Yeah I think I have a right to be terrified right now!" Pat just raised one eyebrow at me then shrugged and continued walking. 

"You could always go home y'know Pete. You don't have to stay here with us." Joe suggested quietly. "You can take my car if you want."

"There is no way in hell I'm driving through the city alone at night. Just please tell me there's a light switch somewhere." Andy turned his head and smirked. 

"There's only one area in the back that has working lights for right now but I plan on fixing the rest and turning this place into a huge loft type place cept its on the ground. Come on the switch is this way." Andy led us to the back of the warehouse and I kept glancing behind us as we walked, in turn losing ground between the guys and myself. I was about twenty feet behind when I saw a flash of movement in the dark and my body locked up in fright, my eyes going wide and searching desperately for the source of the movement. 

"Guys…" I squeaked but when I looked ahead of me they were gone, Joe turning around a corner of boxes and disappearing from sight. "GUYS!" I shouted louder.

"COME ON PETE!" I heard Patrick shout. Another flash of movement in the corner of my eye.

"GUYS THERE'S SOMETHING IN HERE!" I screamed, still unable to bring myself to move. More movement, this time closer and accompanied by a light breeze. There was only one thing that could move fast enough for me not to be able to see them fully and knowing that factor made me start hyperventilating and my body start trembling. I heard running and turned to see Patrick, Andy, and Joe come running around the corner towards me but when I looked back towards the shadows my heart leapt out of my chest. Standing right in front of me was a familiar, black haired, skinny twenty year old dressed in a formal suit and a white hat clutched in his left hand. His skin was pale, deathly pale and his eyes seemed to glisten as he looked at me. He was two feet away, close enough for me to feel his icy breath on my skin, causing goosebumps to rise quickly on my flesh. 

"Pete." He breathed, sending shivers down my spine when I saw the point of a fang just behind his pale lips. 

"B-Brendon." I stuttered unable to calm myself enough to speak correctly. 

"How nice of you to remember my name correctly. I've missed you buddy, long time no see?" Brendon and I had been friends a few years back before he became so introverted and quiet that he seemed to just disappear inside himself. 

"Y-yeah." My eyes were fixed on those sharp points in his mouth as he spoke, watching them and waiting for him to make a move towards me before I ran screaming. 

"Don't be frightened. We're still friends right?" His was smooth and calming, almost like he was trying to hypnotize me into coming closer and forget my fear. 

"Right…" I whispered and moved to take a step forward. 

"PETE! DON'T!" Patrick shouted and I snapped out of it, Brendon's gaze darkened and he looked positively evil. 

"Patrick's right Pete. Don't come any closer. Don't lie to me either. You gave up on me, there is no friendship between us anymore." He hissed, a sound that could never be made by a normal human being and I backed away towards Patrick. "You would have been there for me last night if we were friends. Guess the thought never crossed your mind though. Selfish Pete, only concerned about his own well being and never anyone else's." He snapped, fangs clearly displayed now. He didn't make a move towards us though, in fact he turned to face the other way. "Careful out here Peter...wouldn't want anything to happen to yah. Pete, Andy, Joe…good luck." He snarled and walked into the dark, disappearing in an instant. I felt Patrick's hand on my shoulder and he turned me to face him. I just stared wide-eyed into the dark as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and hugged me.


	3. Chapter 3

We decided against spending the night at the warehouse. Instead we made plans to go back the next day in the early morning, seeing as it was Saturday finally. The whole drive back to my house, seeing as I volunteered it as our hangout place for the weekend, was quiet. I stared out the window, seeing a few vampires start to emerge as the sun went down. Joe thankfully drove faster to my house and pulled into the guest garage and shut the door quickly. Everyone had guest garages now, you didn't leave your car outside unless you wanted to wake to a missing vehicle or a thrashed one. We went quietly into the house and to the kitchen, smelling the food that was cooking in there. My mom looked up as we entered the room and her smile faltered as she saw our somber expressions. 

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly, setting down the knife she was using to cut bread. 

"Brendon. We-we saw Brendon Urie tonight." I whispered, staring at the pan of cooking steak, the blood left in it bubbling on the pan around it. 

"Oh dear, how was he? Poor boy, he lost everything." She wiped a tear from her eye. 

"He's a vampire." Pat blurted out instantaneously and my mom's face paled and her eyes went wide. 

"Oh my…" She put her fingers to her rosy lips and just stared at the four of us, now fully understanding the extent of our sadness. She looked to me. "Pete I-I'm so sorry. I mean he was your best friend for a long time!" I just turned and headed towards my room. 

"Not according to him." I snapped as I headed up the stairs and into my room, flopping down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. 

"Your mother was always so nice." I shot up and looked in the direction of the voice, seeing him sitting in the chair across from the bed. 

"Brendon! What-what are you doing here?" He stood up, brushing his pants off with gloved hands. In a flash he was right in front of me, his face less than five inches from mine, teeth glinting in the dull light of my room. 

"Don't come outside at night." He breathed, I felt some strange feeling wash over me, making me completely relaxed and I just nodded, something in the back of my mind told me I should go outside though he had just told me not to. I looked up to him but he was gone and I was just sitting alone on my bed. I got up and headed back down the stairs, Patrick, Joe, and Andy all sitting at the table whispering. I headed to the front door and unlocked it. 

"PETER! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" My dad shouted but I already had the door open and was taking a step outside, my ears catching the sounds of screams and growls. I made it down to the sidewalk before hands started grabbing me and yanking me back towards the house. 

"PETE YOU IDIOT!" Patrick shouted in my ear as he, Joe, and Andy pulled me towards the house. I yanked against them, screaming and   
shouting and attracting all kinds of unwanted attention. My mind was telling me I had to do this though, I had to go outside and be noticed. "PETE SHUT UP!" Patrick clamped a hand over my mouth and that's when we heard the first growl, directly to our left. I looked over and watched as a thirty something year old, emerged from the darkness around the house, hands held out to his sides like claws and crouching in an very animalistic pose. He snarled and flashed pearl white fangs, more snarls emerged from our right and straight ahead. I snapped out of my weird trance and panicked. There were at least fifteen vampires around us and we were armed only with the pocketknives that everyone carried. I yanked my pocketknife out of my pocket and flipped it open, hearing the click of the others' blades as well. The first vampire lunged and Patrick was there, he stuck his knife right into the vamp's chest and we all watched wide eyed as the vampire fell dead to the ground, no dramatic "turning to dust" just plain dead. The other vampires snarled deafeningly and attacked. I swung my blade around in front of me, slicing at any pale flesh that came too close. I heard bodies dropping left and right and I still struggled with one. I finally got an open spot and slammed the blade up into his chest. I turned around, panting heavily and saw Patrick standing amongst five bodies and Joe and Andy around nine of them. My dad was holding a shot gun and I could see some vampires in the road with bullet holes in their chests. 

"Damn Patrick you're a machine!" Andy had a dumbstruck look on his face and Patrick just shrugged. 

"I've got a lot of resentment built up towards them so I guess I just unleashed all I had. That was…wow." Patrick reveled in the moment before his gaze caught mine. "What the hell is wrong with you Pete?" He snapped and I jumped. "YOU ALMOST GOT US ALL KILLED!" I just looked down at the ground as he shouted, something Patrick never did. 

"I dunno Pat…I just…I don't know what happened…Brendon was in my room then I was walking outside I just…" 

"Whoa whoa whoa wait. Brendon was in your room?" I looked up at him and nodded. "Did he say anything?" 

"He told me not to go outside but…I dunno I just…I felt compelled to though." I stared blankly at Pat, trying to process what the hell just happened but my memory was kind of fuzzy even though it had just happened.

"Let's just go inside." He turned and walked in past my dad and I followed him. Once we were all inside we went to our normal spots to sleep. I headed back up to my room, cautiously looking around but seeing nothing, Patrick came up behind me and curled up in the chair, and Joe and Andy laid across the two loveseats in the living room. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be enveloped in the dark. 

"Pete. Pete. PETE!" I heard a faint voice in the dark and suddenly my body was being shaken violently and my eyes snapped open. "Pete…get up." I looked up at the blonde as he turned and walked out of the room. I sat up and my thoughts immediately drifted back to yesterday's events. Brendon had somehow controlled my mind indirectly…he told me not to do something but I was suddenly compelled to do it no matter what. I'd almost gotten us all killed because he controlled me so easily…stupid vampires. I rolled my eyes and got up off the bed slowly, stretching and yawning and ruffling my hair before standing. I stumbled out of my room and to the kitchen where everyone was sitting at the kitchen table, eating various breakfast items such as cereal and bagels. They all looked up at me and stared and I froze in place, staring back and raising one eyebrow at them.

"What?" I finally snapped after a few minutes of our weird staring contest. Joe and Andy looked back down at their food and continued eating whereas Patrick just sighed and rested his forehead in his hands, rubbing his eyes. I knew the expression. He was angry or confused or fed up. "Trick?" 

"Pete. What happened last night? You said Brendon was in your room remember?" Everyone was looking at me and I quickly took a seat and just stared at the table, avoiding their gazes. "Pete…"

"I DON'T KNOW OKAY! HE JUST FUCKING TOLD ME NOT TO GO OUTSIDE AND THEN I FELT LIKE I HAD TO GO OUTSIDE SO I DID ALRIGHT!?" I shouted and banged my fist down on the table, causing Andy and Joe to jump. 

"Jeez Pete calm down, he just asked a question." Andy muttered under his breath and I glared at him. I felt pretty damn overdramatic but I couldn't help it. It's like I wanted to be angry, like it felt good to be pissed off. 

"Shut up Hurley." I snapped and got up from the table, storming back upstairs to my room. I froze. 

"Good morning Peter." His hair was darker now, hanging neatly around his face under his white hat, his suit clean and pristine, and a smirk spread across his face. I backed up against the wall behind me, glancing at the door before looking back at him. 

"Brendon. What-what do you want with me? How are you even here right now? It's sunny outside." He just smirked and slipped off his white gloves from his hands before stuffing them delicately into his pocket. In a flash he was across the room and I was struggling for air as his hand wrapped around my neck tighter and tighter. 

"I don't want anything but your suffering Wentz. When I needed my friend the most, you know where he was? Standing in school, watching me on a television screen, telling his little friend that there was nothing they could do then just walking off like it was no big fucking deal." He snarled, his fangs inches from my face. Tears slipped out from my eyes, streaming down my cheeks silently. 

"Brendon I-I'm sorry!" I choked out and his grip just tightened and he snarled loudly causing a commotion downstairs as people began to run towards the flight leading up to my bedroom. 

"STOP LYING TO ME! YOU NEVER CARED DID YOU!? I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU WHEN WE WERE FRIENDS AND YOU CAN'T EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO BE THERE FOR ME JUST ONCE!" He screeched then in the same burst of speed he was gone, the windows to my left suddenly open and the curtains billowing out with the gust of air. I fell to the floor, clutching my throat as I sucked down air as fast as I could.


	4. Chapter 4

"PETE!" Patrick came flying in to the room and kneeled down beside me, his fingers hesitantly touched the side of my neck where I felt like Brendon's fingers were still. "What happened?" I just glared at him and pushed him back, causing him to fall back on his butt and just stare at me. I used the wall to help me up then I walked over to my open window and slammed it shut before getting on my bed and crawling under the sheets, pulling them up to my eyes, trying to hide the tears that had started to trickle down my cheeks. I heard Patrick get up and slowly leave the room, closing the door on his wait out. I let the tears flow freely and I sobbed into my pillow. 

I ended up staying holed up in my room the rest of the weekend, not emerging unless I had to go to the bathroom. My mom brought me my food and drinks…she didn't question me once, knowing I was scared beyond belief. Brendon hadn't come back yet and I hoped he'd given up on tormenting me, but I wasn't sure and I also wasn't sure if I could trust myself not to be compelled to do something stupid again if Brendon did show up again. I sat up on my bed and groaned, knowing that the only reason I was up at six in the morning was to go and waste a day in high school. Patrick, Andy, and Joe had left in the early morning yesterday and I knew at any moment they'd probably pull up in the driveway and try and get me to talk again but I'd just ignore them, put my headphones in and ignore them. 

I flung my feet off the side of the bed and pushed myself up into a slumped standing position. I stretched and yawned loudly before stumbling over to my dresser. I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans out, followed by a black Glamour Kills shirt with a red flying pig made out of bats on the front, and then a pair of "kb" socks. I yanked my skinny jeans on and laced my silver studded belt through the loops and buckling it, I tossed my shirt on and yanked the socks onto my feet before stuffing them into a pair of black and red basketball shoes. I yawned again, brushing my hair out of my eyes a bit, huffing at my reflection in the small mirror above my dresser. My hair was regaining a slight curl to it at the tips so I walked to the bathroom and flicked on the flat iron. I busied myself by washing my face and applying black eyeliner around my eyes, smudging it on, while I waited for the iron to heat up. "Ugh Wentz…you need to take a shower." I groaned, looking at my greasy hair. "Eh…tomorrow." I promised myself to take the much-needed shower before bringing the hot iron to my hair and re-flat ironing the whole thing. I walked downstairs once I was done, jumping the last few steps and walking over to the coat rack to grab my favorite red hoodie. I yanked it on and pulled the hood up out of habit. I went into the kitchen and my mom smiled at me, I just lightly smiled back before opening the fridge and standing there trying to figure out what to eat. I didn't feel hungry so I just shut the fridge and grabbed a glass of water instead, quickly sucking it down and then grabbing my backpack. 

"Peter remember you're to be home no later than six." Mom reminded me, glaring at me until I nodded. 

"Later mom." I opened the door and headed out to the sidewalk where Joe's black car was already sitting as they waited for me. Joe smiled as I approached and walked around to the passenger side where Andy was climbing into the back alongside Patrick. I opened the passenger door and sat down, not saying a word to or looking at Trick. 

"Hey Pete." Andy said a little too happily and I turned my head just enough for him to see my raised eyebrow. "What? I can't say 'hello' now?"

"No…its just…you seem a little too happy for some reason." I practically whispered as Joe pulled away from the curb and headed down the road towards the school. I prepared to put my headphones in my ears and ignore the rest of the conversation on the way to school. 

"Why wouldn't I be? After what happened, Pat and Joe agreed to start hunting vampires with me! It'll be awesome!" I froze and turned around to stare wide-eyed at Andy and Patrick, dropping my headphones to the floor of the car. 

"You're kidding right?" I squeaked out and Patrick just looked away from me out the window. Andy just shook his head no and unzipped his jacket to reveal at least half a dozen stakes shoved into the inside pockets of his hoodie. "What the hell are you guys thinking?!" I snapped, causing Andy to jump and Patrick to glance at me out of the corner of his eye.

"You don't need to freak out Pete. We can do whatever we want and you can sit in your room and hide from the world." Patrick whispered back. 

"TRICK! SERIOUSLY MAN THINK!" I started to hyperventilate, my heart racing a mile a minute. 

"PETE! JUST SHUT UP OKAY! ANDY WAS JUST MESSING WITH YOU!" He snapped back at me and I leaned back away from him and looked to Andy, eyes wide. He just sat there smirking with one eyebrow raised. 

"We're not stupid Pete. We wouldn't willingly risk our lives like that! It'd be nuts!" I sighed and slumped back in my chair and heard Joe let out a nervous chuckle and I slapped him on the arm, causing him to just laugh louder. I picked up my headphones and relaxed back against my seat, closing my eyes and falling asleep until Joe woke me up just before we arrived at school. 

We pulled up to the school and got out, groans and sighs accompanying our exit out of the car. "Fuck school." I grumbled, grabbing my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder. The others remained quiet and I turned to look at them behind me. They were all glancing at each other nervously and then they all looked away when they noticed I was watching. "What's going on?" I looked at Trick and he just raised his eyebrow.

"Who said anything was going on? Let's just get to first period on time today Pete. I can't afford another day late to school." He walked past me, grabbing the sleeve of my hoodie and yanking me forwards after him for a few moments before letting go of me. I followed him soundlessly, watching him slip into the steady stream of teenagers entering the building. I glanced back at Andy and Joe and said bye to them when they turned off to head to their first class, which was all the way at the other end of the school. I just kept following Patrick, shoving my headphones in my ears as we walked and turning the volume up when my iPod began playing "Our Lady Of Sorrows" by My Chemical Romance. I glanced at people as I followed Trick to our first class, their mouths moving but blissfully drowned out by the music flowing through my headphones. I followed Patrick and looked up right as I saw Josh walk through the door into class. Fuck. I groaned and Trick turned his head to glance at me as I walked before heading through the door himself. I quickly walked in and sat down beside Patrick, earning a raised eyebrow and a glare from a prissy blonde on my right. Mr. Collins just nodded at me, not caring that I had just taken someone else's seat and probably just agreeing cause he didn't want a repeat of Friday's events. I pulled my headphones out of my ears just as "East Jesus Nowhere" by Green Day started to play. 

"Alright class! Listen up please!" Mr. Collins clapped his hands together getting most of the attention in the room, chatter was still going on in the back though. "I SAID LISTEN UP!" He barked and the room went silent. "Alright now today we will be discussing a topic we are all very familiar with. It will be the subject of our studies for most of the year actually. Vampires." Everyone in the room stiffened and I watched as people leaned over to each other, whispering. I glanced at Patrick and he nodded, knowing that I was thinking that I'd had enough of vampires already. I sighed and put my head in my hands, feeling like all I wanted to do was claw my eyes out right then. Mr. Collins brought up a few videos on the projection screen as well as a slideshow, all showing the carnage and feral rage of a vampire. I was sickened, watching image of image go by depicting gruesome murders and massive amounts of damage over the past few years. I finally had enough and just stood up and grabbed my bag and walked out of the classroom. "PETER!" I heard Mr. Collins shout but I kept walking. I couldn't think about it anymore…first the attack on the Urie family, then seeing Brendon in the warehouse, followed closely by the attack at my house, and visits there too from Brendon. It's too much. It's way too fucking much. I walked down the hallway, going out to the benches in the main hall to just take a breather and relax. 

"Hard to get away from it all isn't it? Tell me, am I making your life hell?" I froze when I heard the voice and I hesitantly turned to the source. He was leaned up against one of the stairwell supports, brushing invisible dust from his form fitting suit jacket. He smirked at me, his lips curling to just reveal a hint of his fangs. I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes. 

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered out, feeling a sudden gust of air and he was standing directly in front of me. 

"Why not? Why not make the person who left me alone to suffer, suffer alongside me? Why not make your life a living hell? You think those vampires right outside your house were just there out of normality? No. I brought them, I knew your friends were always wanting to do something, to go out and make a difference so why not encourage them? Why not sit back and watch you worry? Honestly I didn't know you were such a crybaby." He snarled, clearly enjoying the way I flinched at the word. "Hate that word don't yah? Wouldn't have that problem if you'd just grow up and face your fears and judging by the look on your face…I have successfully become one of them." I just stood there frozen, watching as Brendon turned and walked down the hallway. "Goodbye Pete!" He shouted back. "I'm sure I'll see you again real soon!" He strode around the corner and disappeared from sight. I took a deep breath, realizing I had been holding it almost the whole time he'd been talking. I practically broke down, almost falling to the linoleum floor. I flopped down on to the closest bench and shut my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. My heart was racing and I was sucking down air in short bursts, not controlled enough to take a steady breath. He's right. I'm such a baby. A tear slipped from my eye and I just sat there and waited for the bell to ring.


	5. Chapter 5

"Pete." I jumped at the sound of my name emanating from behind me. I tilted my head back, afraid I would find Brendon looming over me but I sighed in relief when I saw it was just Patrick. "You okay?" He walked around the bench and sat down beside me. 

"No…"I sighed, fiddling with the strings on my hoodie. Patrick just kept looking at me, obviously waiting for me to explain. "It's Brendon. He was just here a little bit ago…"

"WHAT?!" Patrick yelped, his eyes flying wide open and people glanced at us curiously because of his outburst. 

"He was here…he basically told me he was going to make me suffer for not being there for him when he needed me. Trick I-I don't know what to do! I don't know what to say to him, how to apologize, because I can't even bring myself to say anything substantial enough while he's around!" I choked out, tilting my head back in an attempt to keep the build up of tears from flowing down my cheeks. 

"It'll be okay Pete, we'll get him to stop…somehow." I glanced at Patrick and he had a very determined look on his face and I believed him. I believed that he out of all people would be able to get Brendon to stop…but how? 

*** 

It had been a year and a half since the incident with Brendon at school. He'd just disappeared after that, hadnt seen a glimpse of him since. Patrick, Andy, and Joe had grown quite distant over that year and I wasn't sure why. Now they were here, standing at my doorstep and looking extremely worn out, telling me that they were leaving for good. 

"Patrick I don't understand…why are you going?" I was again holding back tears that fought to break free and slide down my cheeks. 

"Pete, we can't just stay here in this little town for the rest of our lives. We wanna move on with our lives not continue to live in the past. I thought you of all people would want to move on after everything that's happened. We are inviting you to come with us but there's no guarantee that you'll want to stay once we are there. Its both a warning and an invitation in a sense." I had missed them, my friends…last time I saw them was a month ago and it was just a glimpse as they strode down into an alley. Now they suddenly wanted me to come with them and I was admittedly torn between staying and making sure my parents were safe or going with them to an unknown place. I looked back at my house and could see the shadows on the walls upstairs as my mom moved about, no doubt cleaning up my mess of a bedroom. I looked back to Patrick, to the black jacket he wore and the lacerations on the backs of his hands. I didn't bother to ask because I knew he wouldn't tell where he'd got them. Andy and Joe were just as beat up as he was and it made them all look…older than they really were. "Pete we can't wait any longer. The sun is going down and we need to get to the next town before it does." I sighed and stole once last glance at my house before shutting the front door behind me. Patrick's mouth curved into a smile and he led me down to Joe's car. 

"Where are we going?" Patrick just smirked but didn't say anything. "Trick? Come on I'm going with you, I am practically running away from home, so you could at least tell me where the hell I'm going. 

"I will, when we get there." I sighed and leaned my head against the window in the backseat. About five minutes into the drive my phone started buzzing vehemently and I looked down at the screen to see my mom's face smiling back up at me. They were probably worried sick that I had just up and disappeared…probably thought I'd been snatched by a vampire or something. I wanted to call them and tell them where I was but Patrick said they were better off not knowing. I put a lot of my faith in Patrick, Andy, and Joe. They were my friends when no one else wanted to be and they helped me get rid of Urie, which I still don't know quite how they managed that one but he was officially gone for now. 

"Alright, Patrick you need to get some shut eye so we can switch places later on." Joe piped up from the driver's seat. 

"Already on it." Patrick yawned and I decided to try and get some sleep as well, cause who knows what's going to happen once the sun goes down. 

[Brendon's P.O.V.]

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO KILL HIM!" I snarled at the cowering vampire in front of me, his greasy brown hair grasped by my hand as I yanked down on it harder and harder. 

"I'm sorry Brendon! It won't happen again!" He yelped like a small puppy would when its mother was punishing it. I growled louder, emitting a sound that was all too feral for a normal person. He shrunk back further and excitement welled in my body as a natural response to fear. 

"Damn right it wont." I hissed before grasping his head and twisting it violently, his body falling to the floor with a thud. The other vampires standing around us were desperately trying to maintain composure, but I could sense their fear. "Pathetic scum. WILLIAM!" A tall figure emerged from the back of the group, his hair hanging down to his shoulders. He was dressed nicely, just like the rest of us. Suit, hat, leather shoes…the exact image I wanted them all to portray. That's why he was my right hand man, though most of the time I had him take the role of leadership while I watched everything play out from his normal position. "William, take care of this and tell the drug addicts to mind their territory." He nodded and scooped up the dead body before heading out to the edges of our territorial line, which included most of Los Angeles. There were many groups of vampires living within our territory, but only on the basis that they retained respect for the Dandies, which wasn't a problem due to the fact that we were the largest group of vampires anywhere in the world. 

"Sir!" I spun around and watched a short, dark haired vampire run out of the dark towards me before bowing his head and waiting for permission to speak. 

"What the hell do you want?" I spat and he flinched. 

"S-Sir there's a black car headed into town…the same one from Chicago…" My eyes flew open wide. Stump. I snarled loudly, causing the others to flinch and back up a little bit. 

"William is in charge till I get back." My teeth clenched together, my fangs poking into the back of my lips, causing them to bleed. 

"Where are you going?" The small vampire squeaked. I looked down at him and flashed a quick smile. 

"To visit some old friends."


	6. Chapter 6

[Pete's P.O.V.]

"LOS ANGELES? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? THIS IS LIKE A MECCA OF ALL THINGS UNHOLY!" I shouted, shrinking away from the windows at the realization of where we were. 

"Pete would you please calm down." Patrick sighed and put his forehead between his fingers beside me in the back of the car. 

"ARE YOU GUYS NUTS!?" I shrieked again, my eyes flicking back and forth between the rearview mirror and the sidewalk outside. There were people hurriedly running errands and carrying huge bags at their sides in an attempt to get everything before the sun started to make its descent. 

"Pete, we know what we're doing alright? We wouldn't come here if we weren't ready for it." Andy piped up from the passenger seat. 

"Ready for it? Ready for what?! There's gotta be at least two hundred vampires living in LA? WHAT THE HELL MADE YOU WANNA COME HERE?" A hand met the side of my face and I looked over to see Patrick glaring angrily at me. 

"I didn't ask you to come along so you could act like a little girl Pete. Grow up! We came here for the vampires. We kill them Pete. That's why we stopped coming to your house, that's why you never saw us, that's why were here, are you happy now?" My eyes just went wide and I stared at Patrick for the longest time as the car made its way down the road. 

"Y-you're the ones that have been killing the vampires back home?" I finally managed to squeak out, my mind going haywire with this new information. They've been risking their lives every night by killing vampires and I had no clue! What hurt the most was that they didn't want to tell me…probably just cause I'd have a heart attack. "You didn't tell me cause I'd freak…" I whispered. 

"Yeah…I'm sorry Pete but we didn't want you worrying about us and yelling at us for being stupid. We wanted to do it, we wanted to hunt vampires, and I'm sure you know why." I looked at Patrick and he was trying to keep a straight face, visibly trying not to be angry with me. 

"Because you hate them…" I answered quietly back, my eyes starting to well with tears. 

"Yeah…we know you hate them too but…no offense but you're a little bit of a coward and that wouldn't help us." That did it. That word rolling off his tongue opened the gateway for my tears to poor down my cheek. I hated that word, even though it was true. 

"Pete come on don't do that." An arm wrapped around my shoulders as I let the tears quietly stream down my face. "Pete, being afraid isn't all that bad. It can actually keep you alive longer than us. We aren't afraid of them…we face them head on and that will one day get us killed. Pete, please look at me and stop crying." I regretfully looked up at him, his smile was infectious and I knew I couldn't resist it. "Pete, you're my best friend. I wanted you to come with us because I don't think anyone else could keep me sane. If…if you don't want to stay I understand. You can take the car back home if you want, but we could honestly use you Pete. We'd all probably be psychotic by now if it weren't for you." I smiled lightly at him and he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. I looked at him then to Andy and Joe. They were the same guys I had always known, even though now I knew they were spending their nights hunting the undead. I looked to Patrick again and he still wore his smile, as genuine as could be. 

"Okay…I'll stay. There's a condition though." They all looked at me questioningly and I smirked lightly. "Don't die." A chorus of chuckles broke out and the mood was instantly lightened. I turned my gaze back to the window, watching the sun slip lower in the sky in gradual increments. 

About fifteen minutes later we were pulling up to a warehouse, very similar to the one where we had our first encounter with Brendon. I gulped as I looked up at the building. There were no windows and no doors except for the huge delivery garage door. Andy jumped out of the car and ran up to it, opening a panel beside it and punching in some code before I could hear several locks click open. The door rolled up and Joe pulled the car inside before the door was shut behind us. Patrick got out of the car and I nervously followed, eyes straining to see something in the pitch black of the warehouse. 

"Hold on I'll get the lights." Andy shouted from somewhere and I expected it to echo but it didn't. The lights suddenly came on and I instantly saw why. The walls were completely covered in soundproof material. There was a desk off to the side with a computer resting on top of it, a pile of boxes lay behind that. There was a lounge area with old red couches and an ancient looking television. A drum set, some guitars, and a bass lay against the wall near the kitchen area. There was a huge picture of rabid looking hyenas hanging on the back wall of the kitchen. It was…AWESOME! 

"Wow…this is so cool!" Andy came back up beside us and bowed. 

"I've been working on this place for a while now so it better be good!" He smirked and started giving us a tour of the place. There were beds in another part of the warehouse, piled boxes divided the place like walls so you had some privacy. I immediately called the bed farthest from the main door, much to the others' amusement. "Okay so this is the coolest part in my opinion." Andy slid open a door, revealing a huge room. "The combat room. I've gathered up all our weapons and gadgets in here and set up some practice areas so we can keep our skills up even if we don't go outside. There are a few punching bags to the left, a weight machine to our right, and on the back wall I've set up three targets. We can use those to practice on with the guns, stakes, knives, etc. So what do you think?" He folded his arms, a smug grin spreading across his face as he took in the dumbfounded looks the rest of us were wearing. 

"Well Andy…you've really outdone yourself." Patrick whispered, looking around the room before moving over to a table nearby where a bunch of objects lay spread out on it. I followed him and nearly had a heart attack when I saw the vast majority of weapons laying on the table. Tons of guns, stakes, vials of fluid, and a sword rest in front of me. 

"Damn…you guys really have been busy." I whispered to myself as I brushed my fingers over the handle of one of the guns. I shuddered and turned away from the table before heading back towards the main area and flopping down on one of the red couches. I sighed and tilted my head back, staring at the ceiling. I heard the others come in and felt one of them sit beside me. "Can vampires get in here at all?" I choked out, trying to keep my thoughts lingering on a particular vampire. 

"No. The local preacher gave us a shit ton of holy water and we pretty much soaked the entire place in it." I raised an eyebrow at Andy. 

"Holy water? That crap actually works?" Andy nodded enthusiastically like this kind of topic didn't bother him a bit. I sighed again and closed my eyes. "Like I said before…just don't get killed." 

"Relax Pete, that won't happen anytime soon." Pat spoke up right before I allowed my body to succumb to sleep. 

[Brendon's P.O.V.]

"Smart little fuckers." I grinned as I watched steam curl off my fingers where I had touched the holy water laced concrete just outside the door of the warehouse. I'd followed them here without them noticing and without being burned too much by the sun. It was pathetically easy. I casually brushed my fingers against my pants, wiping away the holy water and allowing my skin to heal. "Looks like I'll just have to pay you a visit some other time. I'll see you soon Wentz." I growled in delight up at the steel warehouse before turning and disappearing into the darkness of a nearby alley to await the night ahead.


	7. Chapter 7

[Pete's P.O.V.]

"Hey Pete! We're heading out!" Patrick's voice rang out throughout the warehouse and I quickly jumped to my feet and ran back to the training room where I knew they would be gearing up for another night on the town. We'd been living here almost a month now and each night just brought more and more anxiety with it. I couldn't stand sitting around and waiting for them to come home each night, not knowing whether they would return unscathed or at all. I flung the partially door open all the way and jogged up to them. "We'll be back before you know it." Patrick glanced up and smiled at me as he loaded cartridges into his net gun. 

"I wanna go." I announced, having made this decision a week ago when Patrick came back with a laceration across his back that had been inflicted by one of the vampires. Three pairs of eyebrows rose up and weapons clattered back on to the table. Patrick stared wide-eyed at me. 

"W-what?" He choked out like it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. 

"You heard me. I don't want to sit around and wait for you guys to come back, wondering if this night will be the last time I see you guys. I just can't do it anymore." I glared intently back at him, refusing to budge on my decision. 

"Pete come on be rational-"

"I'M BEING PERFECTLY RATIONAL! How would you feel if you were the one being left behind every night Pat? Huh? I'm sick of it! I'm sick of sitting around, waiting for you guys to come home. I feel like a fucking housewife that's worried about her kids!" Andy and Joe laughed and a smiled played on Patrick's lips. "Please, I just want one chance. If I'm no good then fine, I'll stay home from then on but I need to try. I need to feel like I'm doing something useful." 

"Well, looks like our little Pete is becoming a man." Trick laughed and clapped me on the shoulder and I glared back at him, causing the laughter to get louder and more ridiculous. Patrick's face became instantly serious after a minute though and he looked to Joe and Andy. "Well, what do you guys think?" 

"I think he should come with us in all honesty. It might be a bit easier if we had four of us instead of three." Andy smiled at me before picking up his sword and walking off towards the car. 

"I think it'd be fun!" Joe piped up as he grabbed a variety of guns and stakes, carrying the armload and catching up to Andy. I looked at Pat and he looked back at me, entirely serious. 

"Alright, but Pete…please for the love of god be safe. I've got your back but you need to have mine okay?" I nodded and he smiled lightly, picking up a few stakes and a net gun and pressing them into my hands. "Let's go." I nodded eagerly and followed him out to the car, climbing in the backseat alongside him after discarding most of the weapons into the trunk. Joe flicked the car on and adjusted his mirrors quickly before hitting the garage clicker and darting out as soon as it was open, quickly shutting it as we drove away. 

"I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous." I squeaked out, looking up and down alleyways as we passed them in the dark. I could hear people screaming and some feral snarls as we drove down the street but I didn't see anything. It was eerily empty. 

"Admittedly I'm always nervous, but once you start fighting your mind goes into survival mode and its really not that scary anymore." Pat spoke casually, leaning back against the seat with his eyes closed like he could peacefully fall asleep at any moment. It was unsettling rather than comforting to talk so casually about such a subject but I let out a shaky breath and tried to relax against the seat. If I freaked out now I'd never get the chance again. 

We drove in silence for a few more minutes before Joe pulled off into an alleyway and parked the car, clambering out and quickly running to the trunk and arming himself to the teeth. Andy quickly jumped out and yanked front seat forward allowing Patrick to quickly crawl out of the car. I sat in the back seat, my breathing starting to become erratic. Calm down Pete, get a hold of yourself! There was a tap on the window and I glanced up to see Patrick frantically waving me out of the car while simultaneously glancing around him. I took a deep breath and scrambled out of the back seat and out into the cool night air before I could change my mind. My eyes flitted back and forth, glancing up and down the alley, searching the dark spaces for any signs of life. 

"Well that's step one. On to step two." I looked to Patrick and he held out a stake and waited for me to take it. I nervously took it from his open palm and he smiled triumphantly. 

"What?" I choked out and he just laughed lightly. 

"Nothing, I'm just glad you're here. In all honesty I thought it'd never happen." I shot him a glare before flicking my eyes back to the dark corners of the alleyway. I listened as Andy, Joe, and 'Trick readied their weapons for the night ahead. I felt totally bare with only the stake but I didn't trust myself enough handling one of the net guns even though I would probably feel safer carrying one of those huge things. 

"Ready?" Andy piped up and my body quivered in a combination of fear and anticipation. I pulled the hood up on my red hoodie, something I never parted with, and zipped up the front to my shoulders. I sighed and looked back at Andy, quickly nodding. "Sweet! Lets go!" Andy jogged off down the alleyway with Joe close behind, leaving Patrick and I standing next to the car alone. 

"Let's go." He smiled at me and motioned for me to walk ahead, I turned to face the exit of the alley and started walking out.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as I stepped from the alley my ears were filled with the sounds of people screaming, feet slamming against the concrete as people ran, and worst of all the animalistic snarls ringing out in the streets. 

"JOE CATCH!" I heard Andy shout and looked to my left just as Andy tossed a stake to Joe and he slammed it down into a body pinned to the ground underneath him. The wriggling body ceased moving and Joe clambered off of it before throwing the stake back to Andy and turned his head only to catch sight of me. 

"Pete! Come on!" He shouted, waving me over to him with a huge smile on his face. They enjoyed this all too much, it was nerve wracking. I jogged over to him and he clapped me on the shoulder. "Come on lets find another." I looked down at the body lying on the concrete. Fangs poked out of the twenty or so year old man's mouth, slightly tinged red from his last meal. I shivered before Joe suddenly yanked me forwards and pulled me behind him as he jogged around the corner behind Andy. I glanced behind me to see Patrick keeping a steady pace behind us, a smirk graced his features before he continued to scan the area around him. Joe didn't release my hand until we came upon a group of what appeared to be young teens strolling down the middle of the road, laughing and having a grand old time. Joe raised his net gun and I grabbed it and yanked it down, taking away his aim at the teen out in front. 

"What are you doing!?" I snapped and Joe clapped a hand over my mouth and yanked me sideways towards an alley. 

"Pete! They're vampires! Why would a group of teenagers be taking a nice stroll down the road in the middle of the night? Did you not see the fangs sticking out of their gums?" I stared goggle-eyed at him and he rolled his eyes, pulling me out of the alley just enough for me to glance at the youth again and realize they did indeed have fangs. "See? Come on lets get em!" Joe scampered out of the alley way and I quickly followed, watching from behind a trashed car as he took aim and fired. The teens scattered when the first one fell to the ground, writhing in agony as the net burned his flesh. The snarls erupting from their throats chilled me to the bone, I felt frozen in fear as I watched them wrestle with Patrick, Andy, and Joe. A particularly loud snarl emanated from near my right ear and I spun around just in time to come face to face with one of the teens. She had long black hair and her eyes were almost completely pitch black, white fangs gleamed in the dim light coming from a nearby street lamp, and her skin practically glowed because it was so pale. 

"You're cute." She hissed in my ear and I recoiled in fear, scrunching my eyes shut. "Aw come on baby don't be such a coward." My muscles tensed up at that word and my eyes opened up and shot to hers, glaring hatefully back at her. "Mmm don't like being called a coward do you?" She grinned and pressed her body up against mine in an extremely sexual way. When her lips touched my neck, I gripped the stake in my hand tighter and with a quick thrust she was staggering backwards, clutching the end of the wooden stake I had just buried deep in her abdomen. "YOU BASTARD!" She screeched before stumbling forward at me and promptly collapsing at my feet. 

"Nicely done Pete!" I jumped and turned to see Andy, Joe, and Patrick all grinning. I smiled back at them and ran over to them. Andy clapped me on the shoulder and Joe gave me a playful shove. 

"I thought I was gonna have to intervene for a second there." Patrick said as we walked down the sidewalk, looking for more vampires to kill. I was jittery from the rush that came with killing one of them. I felt powerful and I liked it. "I think we all agree when we say you'll be with us all the time from now on." 

\---

A month flew by before I even knew it and with each night I got better and better at fighting the vampires. Andy taught me how to use martial arts and Joe taught me mainly how to use the net guns. Patrick taught me everything else, from how to use a vampire's speed and strength against them to the complexities of how vampires separated their territories. It was a lot of information needless to say. My brain felt like it was fried from trying to learn everything as fast as I could, and passing out on the couch never felt better. We were all sitting in the "living room" now, huddled in front of the television, watching old episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and laughing at how ridiculous the show was. 

"How can there be so much drama in such a small group of people?" Joe piped up, his gaze flicking up to the ceiling as he laid his back against the couch. 

"I don't know but the special effects are just dumb." Patrick yawned and stood up, stretching slowly before making his way to the training room. I stood up and followed behind him, yawning loudly due to the recent lack of sleep we had been getting. "Hey Pete, we need to go to the grocery store and get some more food. Its really only a two person job so…you wanna go with Andy this time?" I raised an eyebrow, it was a job I still hadn't been entrusted with until I'd learned to protect myself more. 

"You sure that's a good idea? It's almost sundown, we'd never make it back before its dark." I replied, fingering one of the wooden stakes on the table now in front of me. 

"Yeah, I think you're good enough to go now." He winked as I rolled my eyes at him. "Seriously, if you don't want to go you don't have to, but I thought you'd like to get out of the warehouse for a little bit today since we aren't hunting tonight." I nodded eagerly. 

"Yeah of course I'll go!" I snatched up three wooden stakes, carefully shoving two into my front pockets of my jeans and one in the pocket of my red hoodie. Patrick just laughed at my enthusiasm about going on a grocery shopping trip, but I ignored him and remained blissfully happy.

Andy was waiting in the car when I emerged and clambered into the passenger side. 

"Ready?" Andy buckled his seatbelt and cast a sideways glance at me as I buckled mine. 

"As ever." I smirked and he turned the car on and sped out of the garage just as it opened enough for us to slip through. I could see Joe shutting the door in the rearview and I had the sudden feeling that something didn't seem right, but I quickly pushed the thought away. 

We arrived at the grocery store twenty minutes later, pulling in to one of many vacant spots at the very front and quickly rushing inside. People were frantically throwing their items into bags and rushing out the doors around us, cars squealing as they peeled out of the parking lot. Andy and I walked calmly in, grabbing a shopping basket and started down the first isle, which just so happened to be the candy isle. Andy waggled his eyebrows at me and I nodded in silent agreement as we hastily grabbed a plastic bag and began filling it to the brim with sweets. 

"Hey Pete, go get the car started." Andy piped up as we waited in the very short line at the only open register left in the store. The keys were transferred to the palm of my hand and I gulped a little in fright at the thought of going out in the dark alone, but I nodded nonetheless. The sliding doors opened and a cool breeze wafted in around me. I walked briskly to the car and started to fumble with the various keys to get it unlocked. I looked up right as this girl with long brown hair hurried past me. She looked terrified, absolutely frightened beyond belief. I looked at the lock on the door and the keys, realizing I still didn't know which one was the car door's key cause Joe had changed all the locks so no one outside our group could get in it, and then I looked after her. 

"Fuck." I growled and took off after her, grasping her shoulder gently and she yelped and spun around. 

"Oh, thank god I thought you were…someone else." She breathed rapidly, a clear sign she was running from someone or something. 

"Are you alright? I mean I saw you when you walked past my car…are you okay? Do you need a ride?" I asked sincerely and she smiled, quite a cute, attractive little curl of the lips too. 

"No that's okay, but-" She froze up, her whole body stilling in a matter of seconds as she stared wide-eyed at something behind me. I moved to turn my head but a sudden searing pain ripped through the left side of my neck and I reached up to grasp it only to have my hand connect with someone's face. I almost froze up in shock but instead started fighting frantically. 

"ANDY!" I screamed out even though my throat felt like it was behind ripped to shreds when I did. A thin hand clamped over my mouth and an arm slid around my arms and chest, squeezing painfully tight. As soon as it started though, it ended. I felt myself fall to the asphalt and I laid there for a matter of moments before I pushed myself up on to my knees and immediately spun around to see if the vampire who'd attacked me was still present. No one. Even the girl was gone. My hand flew to my neck when a burning sensation started to rip its way through my body. I could feel the torn flesh and the squish of blood spilling through my fingers and down the back of my hand. "ANDY!" I screamed out again and fell forwards down on to the asphalt in sudden lethargy, just as I heard Andy shouting my name and felt his hands yanking me up on to my feet, then my body being slung over his shoulder.


	9. Chapter 9

I could feel the cool leather of the passenger seat as Andy plopped me down and I vaguely felt his hand as he peeled the fabric of my shirt away from the bleeding wound, making me wince in pain as the skin shifted. 

"Shit." Andy seemed to whisper but I was aware enough to realize that the ringing in my ears was just overpowering his voice. I felt the car shift as he slammed the door shut and again as he got in the driver's seat. 

[Patrick's P.O.V.]

"Joe please change the channel. This is really getting monotonous." I rubbed my forehead between my index finger and thumb. 

"Ah come on! It's just getting to the good part!" Joe threw his arms up from his position on the floor in front of the couch. 

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago. I honestly cannot watch another episode of this show. It's going to be the death of me." We had watched almost all of the two hour marathon of Jersey Shore. It was without a doubt the most ridiculous show I had ever watched.

"Come on Pat I-" The sound of the garage door opening up and screeching tires caused us to jump up on to our feet, quickly running to the garage area to see what the rush was. The car flew into the garage and skidded to a stop, the door quickly coming back down behind it. Andy scrambled out of the car, flinging the door into a pile of boxes in his rush. 

"HELP!" He shouted and we quickly ran forwards, seeing the panic on his face as he ran around to the other side and opened up the backseat. I ran around the car and watched him drag and unconscious Pete out of the car. 

"Andy what happened?!" I grabbed hold of Pete's legs and we carried him to the couch. 

"He went out to get the car and we had parked right up front then I heard him scream for me all of a sudden and I found him lying on the ground and and-" Andy was hyperventilating, tears streaming down his cheeks and I went even further into panic mode. 

"SPIT IT OUT ANDY!" I snapped and he jumped but quickly reached down and turned Pete's neck so his face was turned towards us. I saw the dark stain on Pete's hoodie and Andy reached down and pulled the fabric back to reveal the torn flesh of his neck. My eyes flew wide open and I practically fell to my knees, ghosting my fingers over the wound. 

"He-he was bitten…I tried to hurry back to get the antidote but…Patrick…I'm too late…its been thirty minutes." Andy choked back on his sobs and I leaned forward across Pete's chest, resting my ear against his chest. I could hear the slow beats of his heart and they were getting slower by the minute. He'd wake up within the next two hours…as a vampire. I glanced up at Joe and Andy, both wiping tears from their faces and I realized that my own were streaming down my face and dripping down on to my shirt. I turned my tear-ridden eyes back to Pete's face, his mouth was partially open and he looked oddly peaceful. He didn't know what was happening to his body, he would be blissfully unaware until he awoke. I slumped down and curled up in a ball next to the base of the couch and listened as Andy and Joe slipped to the floor near me. 

"What are we going to do?" Joe finally spoke up after almost an hour of agonizing silence while we all listened as Pete slowly started to shift more and more in his sleep. We all knew what the answer was for it was really the only option that would ensure our survival, but none of us could bring ourselves to say it, so I knew I had to. 

"We all know the answer, but I honestly think that none of us could bring ourselves to do it." I whispered and watched as fresh tears leaked from their eyes. Pete shifted and groaned on the couch behind us, causing me to jump away from the couch and them to scramble across the floor as well. He shifted and rolled over so that he was facing the back of the couch and stopped moving again. I sighed and looked down at the floor. He'd be waking up soon and then we would probably have a horrendous fight ahead of us. I looked down at the "coffee table," two boxes we'd put together, and stared at the stake lying there. I brushed my fingers over it before picking it up and grasping it in the palm of my hand. I hesitantly grabbed Pete's shoulder and rolled him over. I held the tip of the stake directly over his heart, but couldn't bring myself to do it. 

I held it there for a few minutes before pulling my hand away and letting the stake slip from my grasp and clatter on to the concrete floor. "I can't…" I sighed and stepped back from the couch. I turned and walked towards the training room, grabbing a few weapons before returning to Andy and Joe, handing them each a net gun and loading one up myself. I sat down in one of the dilapidated chairs nearby and Andy and Joe sat down at the barstools at the counter in the kitchen that we had installed a few weeks ago. I couldn't bear to the think about my friend waking up as the thing we hated the most. He was Pete, he wasn't supposed to ever get hurt. He was the one that held us down, and though I wouldn't admit it, he was the one to smack some sense into us every once and a while. His fear of vampires reminded me that they were something I should be afraid of, not something I should be comfortable killing. He was the first person to even bother talking to me.

_Another new school. Shit. Another year of being tormented and called a geek or weirdo or something along those lines. I gave up on trying to meet anyone at school, I'd moved far too many times and dealt with too many assholes to care anymore. I headed straight for my first class of freshman year, not bothering to linger in the hallways long enough for someone to notice the new kid. Taking a seat at the back, I buried my head in my arms on the table and waited eagerly for the first bell before anyone had the chance to harass me. I felt the desk next to mine shift and I prayed that the person wouldn't say a word to me._

_"Hey!" I groaned and looked up at the source of a voice. He was slightly tan, dark black hair, dark brown eyes, and a pearly white smile. I would have pegged him as the typical jock, the guy all the girls wanted to be around, if it weren't for the black eyeliner and the way people sneered at him when I looked around the room. He wore a red hoodie with the hood pulled up and the black fringe of his hair hanging over his right eye._

_"Uh, hi." I whispered, turning my head and burying it back in my arms._

_"You're new here right?" I sighed and sat up, knowing I wasn't going to hide any longer the way this guy jumped right on me as soon as he sat down._

_"Yeah." I grumbled and he just smirked, quickly holding his hand out to me and I begrudgingly took it and shook hands lightly._

_"I'm Pete, Pete Wentz." I looked around the room again and saw preppy girls pointing and laughing at Pete and I already and the jocks were preparing spitballs on their desks. I didn't see anything wrong with him, seemed like a nice guy overall, maybe a little annoying._

_"Patrick Stump." Pete smiled and shifted in his chair to face the front of the class. He'd walked beside me the rest of the day, showing me where my classes were and the trick to getting the lockers to open, he even took me to the local CD shop after school and started yanking out CD's, laughing and telling me stories about some of them. He was the only person who cared._

"T-Trick…" I turned to Andy and saw the open mouthed expression on his face and I quickly turned and jumped when I came face to face with the same red hoodie clad teen I'd met four years ago. 

"Pete."


	10. Chapter 10

[Pete's P.O.V.]

It was dark, pitch black. I looked around and saw nothing, felt nothing. It was like I was standing in a huge empty room and somebody had flipped the lights off just to be a dick. It was silent, eerily silent and I felt the hair on the back of my neck start to stand up, sending shivers down my spine as it felt like someone was watching me. I felt like I was standing but for some strange reason it felt like I was also lying down simultaneously. Like when you're dreaming but some part of you is aware that you're lying on your bed. I clenched my fingers and felt fabric pull under it but when I looked down there was nothing, only the same darkness that filled the room. 

"SPIT IT OUT ANDY!" A voice echoed in the darkness and it sounded painfully familiar. I couldn't place a name though, just a vauge image of a blonde teen and some even vaguer people around him. 

"What's going on?" I whispered but my voice didn't echo, it felt constricted. I felt something on my neck, my hoodie being peeled away from my skin with a sickening squelch. My whole body suddenly felt like I'd been thrown in an oven. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground, howling out in pain. Every bone in my body felt like it was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces, on top of that my muscles were all taught and straining, my heart pounding wildly, and my lungs desperately trying to suck in more air. I rolled on to my back, curling up in a ball whimpering as it felt like I was being cremated alive. 

"Pete." I heard the voice again, it was right in front of me but all I could see was the same blackness I had before, but the pain I'd felt before passing out…had I passed out? I can't remember…had disappeared. Light suddenly started to filter into my vision and a hazy image of three people, standing before me, started to form. My body felt different, my muscles were relaxed but I felt…powerful. The feeling was alien to me, I don't remember ever feeling this strong. Thinking about it, all I could call up from any memories was feeling that burning fire in the dark room and then nothing…that was it. "P-Pete?" My eyes focused all the way, the fuzzy figures before me sharpened and their clothes and faces took on more detail. I just stood there, staring at the people before me. The look in their eyes showed recognition. _Do I know them? Should I know them?_ The light filtering into my eyes was too bright for my liking, I had the urge to just shut them and keep them shut, but my body was telling me that wasn't a good idea. My muscles slowly started to tense up and my brain started to try and process why that was happening. The feeling crept up my spine causing me to shiver and my brain finally processed what this was. Fear. The people before me looked young, tired, and banged up, but there was nothing potentially dangerous looking about them. That is until my gaze was cast downwards. 

Resting in each of their hands was a dangerously large looking gun of sorts. It looked familiar and some part of me was trying to say that it wouldn't hurt us, but the other half of me, the stronger half, screamed for me to run. "Pete…" My gaze snapped upwards and eyed the man in the front, wearing a baseball cap over his thin blonde hair. _Why does he keep calling me that? Is that my name? I don't remember…I don't know him, do I?_ His voice was soft yet shaky and somewhat familiar. I could smell the fear roll in waves off of him, sadness mixed in somewhere. He took a step forward and I took a step back. My eyes watched the gun as he shifted it in his hands, bringing it up closer to his chest…closer to mine as well. I let loose a small snarl and his body tensed up and the gun started to turn towards me. My small warning became a full on growl as my anger and adrenaline levels started to rise. My knees bent and I was in a crouch, ready to dart off if he dared bring it any closer. 

"Pete, its us…its Andy, Joe, and Patrick." The taller guy in the back with curly hair spoke up, his tone friendly but the weapon in his hand said otherwise. The blonde advanced again and my mind and body couldn't tense any further so it did the only thing it knew how and that was to let instincts take over. I darted to the side, behind a pile of boxes and scanned the room, looking for any way to escape but I couldn't see any. There was an open door across the room and if I could make it without being shot then I might have a chance of finding something there. My body was full of energy but when I took another step it felt like some of it drained out. My stomach clenched up and my throat seemed to close off at the same time. I crouched behind the tower of boxes, hearing them advance just on the other side. I started to whimper so I bit down on my lip, pain blooming from it as soon as my teeth touched it. I could taste this metallic fluid rush into my mouth. I'd sliced my lip open on both sides but I just bit down tighter as my throat clenched further. I had to gulp down as the fluid started to fill my mouth and my throat immediately relaxed. I couldn't make sense of what my body was trying to tell me, I just knew I had to get away. I glanced to the open door and as soon as I could take another breath I darted out across the room, over the couch and through the double doors. I grasped the cold metal and slammed them shut, locking them from the inside. I heard them run across the floor and start pushing on the doors. I scrambled to the darkest corner and looked around, spotting a huge metal garage type door and running over to it. Before I made it all the way though my throat closed off again and my stomach tightened so painfully that I doubled over, falling on to my hands and knees, gasping for breath. I could feel this warmth radiating through my body, heating up once it reached my throat. It quickly felt like one of those terrible itches you scratch at forever but can't get to go away. I found myself literally clawing at my neck, trying to force that strange fire to go away. The doors I'd locked gave way and I forced myself back to my feet. My fingers curled around the base of the door and I lifted, my muscles not even straining even though I could tell it was way too heavy for a normal person to lift. I flung the door up just enough for me to get out right as they approached it. 

"PETE!" The blonde screamed out and I whipped around, stepping back. It sounded so familiar, I just couldn't place it. My mind just screamed out that they were dangerous, that I needed to run. I stepped back again, pain shot up through my foot and I screamed out, a half snarl really, jumping backwards. It'd felt like I'd stepped on a million pins and needles but when I looked down there was nothing, just a small curl of smoke coming off my foot before disappearing. I glanced up at the warehouse, putting the number of the building to memory as a place to avoid before turning and darting out into the rain and comfort of night. 

[Patrick's P.O.V.]

He was gone. We'd opened the door as soon as possible but he was gone. Just the torrential rain and wind met us outside. I dropped my gun to the ground and sank down to my knees, scraping my skin on the asphalt. I felt like a failure, like I'd failed him by not being able to stop him. I had been afraid though, that first snarl that left his lips caused me to jump in fright and raise my gun, a stupid mistake. He'd been so calm, just standing there looking around like he was utterly lost and I'd brought this on…I made him run. 

"Patrick, let's go. We have to find him before the sun comes up and he goes into hiding." Andy grasped my shoulder, yanking me on to my feet. I just stood there as they pulled the car around, my body felt numb. _This is my fault. This is all my fault that he's out there now. We're gonna lose him._ The passenger door opened and I leaned down, grasping the handle of my gun before climbing into the passenger seat.


	11. Chapter 11

[Pete's P.O.V.]

As soon as I was enveloped in the darkness of the alleyways I felt safer, warmer almost. I kept glancing over my shoulder behind me, worried that the people with the guns would be following me. Why'd they want to hurt me? What'd I do? I kept wondering why over and over again. It bothered me that I didn't know why they'd come at me with weapons. I walked quietly down the dark alley, my vision adjusting to the dark perfectly, showing me all the minute details of the alley walls and concrete slabs I was scuffling my worn shoes on. There were hints of blood spattering the walls, my sense of smell narrowing in on it immediately. I felt my muscles tense as the scent filled my nose, but it smelled stale…definitely having been plastered to the wall some weeks ago.

A soft pattern of thuds pounded in my ears, causing my head to snap up and scan the alleyway in front of me, my eyes searching desperately to locate the source of the noise. A sickly looking dog trotted past me in the alley, his blood pumping weakly through his body, signifying he wouldn't last much longer out on the streets. I turned and kneeled down, whistling after the dog, he paused and turned his head back to look at me. I patted my leg and he turned cautiously and padded towards me, sniffing the tips of my outstretched fingers before meeting my eyes with his. I could hear something rushing, sounded like streams, but it was being pumped out by something else. I focused on that sound and realized it was coming from the dog, it was his heartbeat and the rushing was his blood. I could smell the blood, feel it turning my instincts up a notch, but it wasn't that appetizing since it was so thin and he also wreaked of garbage and other filth. I felt the slide of dirty, sticky, fur under my hand and saw the black dog inching closer to me, the top of his head under my hand and his eyes gauging my every action. I just slightly shifted my foot and the dog backed away, his instincts telling him to run if I moved again. I smiled and rose to my feet, the dog backing further before turning and darting off down the alleyway. My eyes flicked ahead, further down the alley where the dog had come from. Moving forwards, I could hear slightly raised voices coupled with feral growls. My instincts turned on full blast and my muscles tensed as I headed down towards the end, knowing I would probably run into someone or something. 

"NO! NO! PLEASE!" A high pitched voice screamed out in the alley way, causing me to quicken my steps and go around the corner at the end, just to find a group of guys standing at the end of the alley, their arms wrapped around a few teenage girls. Something in the back of my mind told me this wasn't right and wanted me to fight them, but my instincts won out. They were food, I could smell it on them. Their blood was warm and inviting, not to mention it smelled delicious. My eyes rolled back in my head at the sensation it brought me. The other people from before weren't like these ones, they wreaked of death and their presences frightened and angered me all at once, but these people…they were innocent, young, helpless. I moved forwards and the men's eyes locked on me, flashing their fangs. Each had a pair of primary fangs, longer than his normal teeth, and a pair of secondary fangs, which rested beside the primaries, but were almost half the size. I snarled and showed off my own teeth, my muscles tensing, preparing for a fight if need be, but their faces relaxed and smiles bloomed across each of them. They couldn't see me under the hood, but they could sense my presence, sense that I was like them and they found comfort in that and turned back to the girls clutched in their arms. I moved past them, my instincts screamed for me to snatch one of those girls and sink my teeth into her flesh, finding that somehow appetizing. I kept moving though, keeping my head down as I passed small groups of vampires, some clutching their prey and others talking loudly, their laughs ringing out into the night. I turned a corner and passed another group when a handed landed on my shoulder. I froze and turned my head only slightly, looking at the owner through my black fringe. 

"Aren't you one of those hunters?" The vampire growled, flashing his fangs as his grip on my shoulder tightened. What was he talking about? I just glared at him, through my fringe, not really meeting his gaze full on, but his grip was pissing me off. My throat burned and the first thought in my mind was that I needed to feed, but my survival instincts were telling me that this was a little more of a pressing situation. I snarled loudly, his grip faltering momentarily, just enough for me to turn the tables and pin him against the dirty bricks that made up one of the walls of a post office. I tightened my grip on his neck as he pathetically struggled, his hands clawing at my arms. A small smirk played on his lips. "You d-don't remember do you?" He choked out, a bit of his spit landing on my red hoodie, a feral growl ripped its way from my throat. I squeezed his neck tighter, listening for the sound of his heart rate increasing but it never came. I reeled a little at this realization, he was alive yet had no heart? Was I the same? I listened for my own heart beat yet found none, half of my mind saying this was right, this is how its supposed to be and the other half saying this was wrong on so many levels. I caught the other vampire's gaze and glared. 

"Remember what?" I spat and he just let out a small laugh before my grip on his throat clenched tighter, closing off his airway. A snarl to my right caught my attention and my gaze turned to a teenage girl, baring her fangs. The man I was holding looked to her then back to me, his eyes a little wider. A couple? Interesting. "I asked you a question." I growled and the girl took a step forward. I hissed at her and she froze. 

"YOU'RE A HUNTER!" She yelled at me, her fists clenching. "YOU DON'T REMEMBER CAUSE YOU'RE NEW! LET HIM GO!" She growled, not moving though. I don't know what it was about me that had her so frightened, surely she was just as strong as I. 

"New to what?" I let my grip on his throat slacken and he sucked in a breath, even though the action was really unnecessary. 

"You're a new vampire. You don't remember because your mind can't handle all the changes and memories at once." A new voice came from behind me, a hand landing on my shoulder, but only resting lightly, not clamping down like the man still in my grasp. Their voice was cool and collected, wreaking of blood and something else, cologne? Either way the scent was overwhelming and clouded my senses. I dropped the vampire, watching as he scurried off with his girlfriend, not even slowing down to take one glance back at me. I didn't turn to meet the new vampire's gaze, I could recognize his voice but couldn't place it. The hand gave a slight tug, as if to want me to turn so I did. My eyes rested upon the finely dressed, thin, male. His dark hair was gelled into place, and a hat was clamped in his other hand, the suit he wore was pristine even though by the scent of his breath I could tell he'd just fed. He smirked at me, allowing me to glimpse his fangs for just a brief second. "Tell me, do you remember me at all? Any fuzzy images in the back of your mind when you look at me?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't like him in an instant, he bothered me. It felt as if he was sneaking around, skirting around a truth and purposely hinting at it to mess with me. A smile spread across his face and he chuckled a little as I glared at him. "Nothing at all? Interesting. I guess I should introduce myself and give your memories a little kick start. My name is Brendon, Brendon Urie." He grinned as he turned and walked off, just as my head started to explode with pain, sending me to my knees.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything hurt. My head, my arms, my legs, and even my eyes seemed to burn from the pain. The worst part was, I couldn’t remember why. Looking up, I saw the dark sky slowly start to lighten, the alley I was lying in wreaked of blood. What happened last night? How did I get here? I sat up and rubbed my temples, groaning as my head was the source of the worst pain, as if I’d been hit with a sledgehammer repeatedly, not that I knew what that felt like. “Uggghhh…” I groaned and forced myself up to my feet, looking around for some sort of bearings. I was in town, that much I knew, the alleyways all looked the same though. Looking around cautiously, I moved out towards the roads, my hand flicked to my pocket to pull the stake I keep in it out but froze when it was empty, just a flat pocket against my thigh. “Shit!” My nervousness spiked to ninety percent, only retaining some sense of calm. Where were Patrick and the others?! Did they really just leave me out here?! Or maybe…maybe something happened and we got separated. I’d just have to find my way back without being seen, or wait until the sun rose. My feet stopped at the edge of the alleyway and I peered around the corners. There were still vampires out here, not many but enough for me to be in trouble if I were spotted. I was only four blocks away from our base, not a big distance during the day, but when the vamps were out it took a lot longer to make sure you stayed hidden. Moving backwards, I turned to run back the other way in the alley, but my back met something hard behind me and I froze. I could hear the quiet breathing, the thick muscles pressed against my back. 

“Well, well, well…what do we have here? A little hunter who’s lost his way.” I turned and gulped, facing two thickly built vampires. They were a part of the “vamps of the hood” as we called them, your not so typical gang members. These two weren’t the high up leaders of their gang, but that didn’t matter, they were huge. Muscles bulged all over their bodies and out running them would be impossible. The one who’d spoken smirked at me, flashing all four fangs before looking to his partner and grinning. “Maybe we should help the poor guy…” The meaty pair burst out into laughter and I took a frightened step backwards, expecting my heart to start racing in my chest, but the odd part was…I didn’t feel anything, just a sense of danger.

“Or maybe…we should just rip him to shreds before - wait a second…” The second man stepped closer, his eyes fixated on my chest. I watched as he looked like he was listening hard before his eyes widened a bit, looking at me in shock before a wide grin spread across his face. “Well this is unexpected…looks like he’s not a hunter anymore, but the hunted instead.” The grins on their faces were unnerving and I gulped down again, stepping back. 

“What the hell a-are you talking ab-bout?!” I stuttered out nervously, afraid that at any moment, the thick muscles of their arms would be throwing me to the wall while their fangs sunk into my skin. 

“Look in a mirror…you might hate what you see…” They grinned and turned away, laughing as they headed back down the dark alleyway. I stood there still, staring after them. What just happened? My hand flitted to my chest, over my heart, pressing harder and harder against my skin in a desperate attempt to feel something, to feel the softest beat. My chest seemed to sink as my tongue flitted across my teeth and met four sharp points in its path. 

“No…no this…I c-can’t!” Without any hesitation, I bolted out onto the streets, running past good sized groups of vampires on their way back to their hiding spots. My feet carried me right to the nearest storefront and skidded to a stop in front of the mirror. My own eyes stared back at me, I looked completely normal, as I always have. Dawning my red hoodie and regretfully filthy blue jeans, my hair still flat ironed and whipped to the side, but upon looking closer, my eyes were a little different. They were a brighter shade of hazel than they’d been before. My hand rested against the glass and I swallowed nervously before slowly parting my lips and opening my mouth to reveal what I’d pleaded wouldn’t be there. Two long primary fangs and two secondary fangs rested where my upper canines and lateral incisors had one been. My fingers slipped from the glass and my knees gave way, I slumped to the ground. I hung my head and stared at the concrete beneath me, not even realizing I’d started to cry until there were small water droplets falling to the ground. 

H-How? H-how had this…that night…the groceries…I’d gone with Andy and…oh god. I’d been attacked, I remember that now. I was asking this girl if she was alright and then it came from behind, its fangs sunk into my neck and Andy must’ve gotten to me before I was killed. There was no way he could have gotten me back to the base in time for the antidote, so I turned. More tears started to flow and I looked up in the mirror again, a hopeless wreck met my gaze, tears rolling down his cheeks and eyeliner started to run a bit. So last night I must have just gotten out somehow. They didn’t kill me. My eyes widen and I stood up immediately. “I…I b-better not have…god…I couldn’t have killed them!” I turned and started running back towards the base, hoping I’d be met with a net gun or something to show me they were still alive, that I hadn’t done something awful in my dazed state. I got to the edge of the stores and ran out into the street without thinking. The sun was up and my skin started to burn. “AGH!” I jumped back under the awnings of the storefronts and stared at the street, knowing there was no way I was going to avoid the sun. I was trapped, like a rat. Like a monster. I heard the jingling of bells behind me and I turned, my eyes meeting the frightened ones of a young lady who had come out of her store to put the “Open” sign back up for the day. We just stared at each other and she seemed to relax a little. I remembered her, I’d been in her store before to buy some new clothes when my old ones got too torn to keep wearing. In fact the jeans I had on were from her store. 

“P-Pete isn’t it? God you scared me…I thought you were a vampire for a moment there. Which obviously would’ve been stupid considering the sun is up now. What’re you doing out so early?” I just stared at her before turning fully, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Pete? Are…are you okay?” I hung my head again, feeling very much like a kicked puppy. I felt…defeated, broken, alone…a whole bunch of emotions swirled at once, it was like being pushed off a waterfall, which in fact had happened at least once. “Pete?” She stepped forwards and rested a hand on my shoulder. I reeled backwards when the scent of blood filled my nose, the blood pumping through her veins was so potent, as if she were actually bleeding out. I had stepped right back out into the sun, the immediate burning taking place before I jumped back into the shade. The girl’s eyes widen and she stepped back. “Y-you’re…you’re a vampire!? But h-how!? When!?” I looked at her sadly. 

“Y-yesterd-day…or a w-week ag-go…I d-don’t r-remember…I j-just remember w-waking up in the a-alley a f-few hours ago…” I didn’t move towards her, not wanting to frighten her. She was scared of me. I was the big scaredy cat before this…now somebody was frightened of me. I flinched a bit when a hand gently touched the back of mine. The girl was nervously taking my hand while I just looked at her. 

“Y-you can hide inside…t-till night…just b-because I know you…s-sort of…” She pulled me forwards gently and led me inside the cool store, taking me to the back office and letting me stay in there. “If you need anything just…ask I guess.” 

“C-can you c-call this number…t-tell them where I am…” Luckily enough, I always kept Patrick’s number tucked away in my hoodie, just incase I’d lost my phone or didn’t have it, like now. 

“Are these your friends? The hunters? Wh-what…I mean…d-do they know?” She took the piece of paper from my fingertips. I nodded weakly.

“I c-can only assume they d-do…” 

“What…what will they do when they find you? You guys killed vampires…and now…” She hesitantly motioned towards me. A few tears rolled down my cheeks.

“They’ll do what’s right I hope…end this before…before I hurt someone…” I trembled a bit and more tears flowed silently down my cheeks. It’s funny, I thought vampires were emotionless, yet I felt as if every part of me was an emotional wreck waiting to happen. Maybe its just because I’m new, maybe my emotions are just so touchy now because they’ll disappear later. Maybe I’m crying for the last time. Who knows…

I could hear the dialing of a phone from the other room and amazingly I could actually hear the ringing from the phone pressed to the girl’s ear. I could hear every brush of fabric from her dress touching the counter, and her ballet flats lightly brushing the floor with her steps. The door to the office was even closed and I could still hear everything. The jingling of bells led to the hanging up of the phone and time seemed to tick by slowly as the girl tended to customers. She was too afraid to talk to Patrick about me with them in the store. I don’t blame her. Everyone hated to even admit there were such evil creatures in the world, they went about pretending each day was as normal as can be. 

After a few hours of just sitting in the office, staring at the wall, the light started to give me a headache and I got up and flicked it off, sighing softly. I used to be afraid of the pitch black like this, but now…I could see every little detail in the room as if the light were still on, minus the headache. It was like it calmed the rush of thoughts running through my head. The dark just let me…think, let me be me again for a little bit. 

“What am I going to do?” I sigh heavily, flicking a pencil on the desk, not realizing my strength until it flew across the room and shattered against the wall. I looked down at my hand and flexed my fingers, frowning. Another reminder that I wasn’t human anymore. I’d become the one thing that I hated the most. I became the thing that killed Patrick’s parents…violated Andy’s mom, and killed Joe’s dad. I was the very same now. Why did I want the girl to call them? Maybe it was better if I just disappeared. I could feel the tears brim in my eyes again, it felt like I was the same old Pete again, afraid of everything and crying about anything. I brushed them away before they could roll down my cheeks. The door creaked open and I actually wanted to growl at the girl when she flipped the light on, but I held back and just groaned softly as my eyes adjusted. 

“S-sorry…I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to call them, I’ve just been busy today.” I sigh and nod softly. 

“It’s fine…you’re running your business…take your time…” She smiles weakly.

“Just wondering but…why don’t you call them?” I frown and look up at her.

“Because too many things have happened to them by vampires…and I…I don’t want to get the brunt of their pain over the phone…I’d rather let them have time to think and…decide what they’re going to do after you’ve called.” She frowns and nods.

“You know…a lot has happened to me too…by vamps…I lost my brother. Technically at least, physically he’s still out there. He’s one of them now…like you. It’s so funny because…I hated him almost instantly for being one but today I let you into my door without hesitation. No offense, but you looked so lost…and I could tell that you knew that this was the worst thing that had ever happened. I couldn’t watch you burn out there. Somehow I guess I knew you wouldn’t do anything, besides you were a hunter after all…” She smiled and I found myself smiling a little bit as well before the front door jingled and she had to return to the front, flicking the light off on her exit. I sighed heavily and leaned back in the chair.

It was an hour later that I heard the click of the phone again and the beeping as the phone number was being punched in. If my heart still beat it would be beating faster with each click, and pounding by the time the ringing started. Instead I just felt…blank. I didn’t know what to do, what to say, what would happen…ugh. I just feel empty. The ringing seemed to go on forever and ever. I decided to peek out of the office and found that it was actually already starting to darken outside and the girl was closing down early since no one else would be coming in now. I’d been here all day already. Tucked away in her dark little office. I looked up at her clock, seeing it in the dark. It was six thirty. Patrick and the others would be in the car heading out into town right about now. I hoped that Pat still had his phone on him, but at the same time I hope he didn’t. After more ringing the phone clicked off and I heard the girl sigh. I decided it was alright to emerge from the office, since the sun was down behind the buildings when I peered out. I stood and opened the door, stepping out. The girl jumped a bit and then sighed softly. 

“I’m sorry…I can’t get a hold of him…but maybe they’re out looking for you…or hunting.” I smirked weakly and nodded.

“I can guarantee they’re out on the town somewhere, but I doubt they’re looking for me…at least not anymore…” She frowns and hands me the slip of paper back with Patrick’s number on it. I take it gently and tuck it back into my hoodie. “Thank you. For letting me stay here…” 

“You’re welcome…just…don’t stand out in the sun anymore okay?” She smirks and I chuckle softly and nod.

“I’ll try not to…” I turn and head to the door, waving goodbye to her as she locks it behind me. “Be safe.” I say from the other side of the glass and she nods before heading to the back of her store and turning all the lights off. I turn and face the street, looking at the slowly darkening town, sighing heavily as I step out from under the awnings and relax as its dim enough to not burn my skin. As the sky darkens further, I see vamps emerging all over, their laughter fills the air and I can hear growls and snarls as some begin their nightly hunt. All that I can think of is finding my friends and hoping that I can still call them that by the end of the night.


	13. Chapter 13

Cars smashing together, metal crumpling, the thump of heartbeats, the rush of blood, pounding footsteps, glass breaking, screams for help, and feral growls in the dark, the sounds all mixed together in a symphony that sounded like Freddy Kreuger dragging his razors across a chalkboard. Pete's ears felt like they were bleeding from the mixture of noise raging around him. His eyes squinted in pain and he clapped his hands over his sensitive ears, trying to block the sound but the moment he did, he could swear he could hear his own bones shifting underneath his skin. Sinking to his knees in the middle of the sidewalk, Pete pressed his hands ever tighter against his ears, till his skull started to bloom with pain and he let out a heart pounding shriek. He'd only made it a few blocks after leaving the safety of the small store. _Why was there so much noise!?_ So much so it seemed to just filter right through his hands and continue in an endless horrifying rhythm. His teeth started to ache as he ground them together, biting in to his own lower lip until his fangs cut deep, blood bubbling up out of the wound.

Pete didn't realize his painful cries had caught the attention of a group nearby, a group that was slowly drawing closer to him. Their whispers adding to the raging cacophony inside his head. The three men drew closer and closer until they were standing around him. The tallest one of them kneeling down in front of the crumpled up heap that was Pete, still howling in agony.

"He's new...very new. I'd say less than forty eight hours. Far less. Looks like the adrenaline is finally worn off. Can't filter the noise anymore." The tall one whispered to the others, examining the being before him as if he was making notes at a crime scene. "Look at him, he's an absolute mess. He hasn't learned a damn thing yet...whoever turned him is an asshole. Horrible to leave a newbie alone like this." It was a feeling the man knew all too well. Looking at the bawling mess in front of him was like looking at a mirror of himself years ago. The pain that was currently running through this guy's mind was something they'd all gone through in their transitions. "Help me with him." The two who accompanied him exchanged worried glances, shifting uncomfortably. "We can't leave him out here like this. He can't even move." Reluctantly, the other two helped their friend lift Pete in to his arms before they slipped down a nearby alleyway, flanking their burden laden ally. "We should take him to Ray's." The man whispered.

"Are you crazy? We've already involved him too much. We can't risk someone finding out about him. You know what those hunters do to people who hide vamps. They don't care about our 'good intentions.'" The shortest of the three growled through his teeth. "Remember Bob? They tortured him till he died...trying to get to us." The snarl in his voice mellowed to a whimper almost. "We can't let that happen to Ray. He's helped vamps so much they'd probably just shoot first and ask questions later." 

"They already do that..." The third member of the group whispered almost inaudibly. The short one flashing him a definitive glare. 

"Well...where do you propose we take him then? He's a blubbering mess right now. He's making so much noise half the city can hear us. Besides, Ray knows more about vamps than vamps know about themselves. INCLUDING US. He helped us through this stage when we needed it. Remember? We aren't exactly experts on how to calm down and focus." The tall, slender man kept his voice relatively quiet as he carried the still whimpering Pete out on to the next street, avoiding attention as much as possible and making sure they were not being followed. 

"He's right, we have nowhere else to take him. Make sure we aren't followed short fry." The third man looked to his shorter counterpart, smirking when irritation bloomed across his friend's face. 

"You're going to regret that later." 

"Whatever you say, Frank." Getting a running start, Frank jumped up to the balcony on the second floor of the building directly in front of them, then climbed a pipe up to the roof, swinging himself easily over the ledge. He watched as his friends below slipped inside the building, waiting for the click of the lock on the door. It was faint but it was there. Frank sat down on the edge of the building, swinging his feet out in the open air. 

"Who does he think he is calling me short fry." He scoffed irritably, then let out at long sigh. "I hope this guy is worth it." The threesome had helped far too many of their own kind to count by taking them to Ray. The medical genius turned doctor for vampires. Who knows what the hunters knew about him already. Surely they'd gotten wind of someone helping the newly turned, but if they hadn't then Frank desperately wished they never would. 

Ray was the kind of guy who put everyone else before him, no matter who or what they were. Their health was his main priority and when he discovered that vampires were still just as capable of change as people, he was determined to help. Hoping that by doing so, he would be able to change the opinions of others about these creatures of the night. That was a pipe dream though. The vampires, for the most part, did not want to be friendly. They wanted to feed and party and stake territories like wild animals. Ninety percent of them were unchangeable, they enjoyed their new lifestyle far too much to care about their food source's feelings. Frank knew the fun of it all too well. He'd been a part of some pretty terrible things after he was first turned. Having done his fair share of unnecessary slaughters and blood parties, as they were called, he knew he wasn't one to say he was saved exactly. Just given a second chance by Ray, who had been Frank's food of choice one evening. Instead of getting his fill that night, years ago, he started a long friendship with a man who was a lot smarter than he looked. 

Ray had been prepared. He'd brought an electrified net he'd thrown together with him in a duffel bag that evening, with every intention of capturing and eliminating a vampire, a very specific one. This was back when they were extremely small in number and not exactly readily available. They hadn't quite staked their claim to parts of the city yet either. Ray had been staking out the area for a while, knowing that the short statured vampire often frequented the same alley, an alley known to be riddled with dealers and strippers. Easy and continuous prey for the young vampire. It had almost become commonplace for the residents of the alley to just watch idly by as one of their own was killed before them. What were they to do about the blood drinking thing with teeth like razors? No one had had much experience with one before. Furthermore, why should they care? The dealers kept on dealing and the strippers kept on stripping. It was like nothing ever happened, just another dead body on the street. Ray had enough, he wanted it to stop and when the petite man showed up again that night, he cast his net in the air from above the vampire currently stalking the alley and heard the creature scream out in agony as powerful electrical shocks coursed through him. 

Ray had been proud of his catch that night and had every motive to humanely dispose of the thing in his net. Unfortunately though, as he drew closer to the being tangled in the still buzzing net, growling like a deranged beast, he saw a fire in those eyes even as its body was wracked with pain. It was such a powerful gaze that it entranced Ray. How could it be in so much agony yet still having this burning glare? How could something be so strong mentally? He couldn't hold back a small smirk. It was a familiar look to the fluffy headed man. The same one he'd given to his father long ago when he was told he'd amount to nothing. The vampire looked like a young twenty year old, dark hair, covered in tattoos. He honestly looked like someone Ray very well could've gone to school and been friends with at one point. Other than the sharp pointed teeth being slightly bared each time the vampire winced in pain, he looked entirely like a regular person. So, in typical Ray fashion, who could change his mind on a whim, instead of finishing what he'd set out to do, Ray shut the electricity off on the net and lifted the man in to his arms, carrying him back to his truck. He was going to change this creature if he could and if he couldn't then he justified putting it out of its misery, but he was going to at least try and enjoy the challenge. Why not? Where was the harm if it was going to fail anyways? 

After lugging the slowly recovering vampire to his truck and strapping him down in the bed of the vehicle like a dead deer, Ray took him home and carried him in to his house. He had the brief realization that he had no way of securing the vampire without using the net, so he left it wrapped around the bloodsucker and laid him out on the couch. As the vampire slowly regained strength, he prepared to use the remote clicker to switch on the electricity. Oddly though, the man in the net just stared blankly at him, as if he was at a loss for words. Why shouldn't he be? 

A human had gotten the jump on him for once. Frank couldn't wrap his reeling mind around the concept. This average guy just caught him and took him home like a Thanksgiving turkey, like it was absolutely nothing. _Who does he think he is?_ Frank's muscles tensed, preparing to shred the net to pieces now that his muscles had recovered from the shock. _Who does this asshole think he is? He can't do this to me!_ Just as he was about to free himself and gorge on the stupid afro man, he saw something across the room. It was a family photo. Obviously taken when the man before him was much younger, both his parents smiling happily over him. He instantly thought of the small photo tucked away in his wallet currently of his own family. Back when everything was black and white with no red in between. It was a harsh reminder of what he'd lost.

Frank had killed his father in blind rage just days after he had been turned. His memory was foggy at best of what actually happened that led to his father's murder but it was enough to send pain through his cold heart. That same night Frank vowed that he would slaughter the one who made him what he was now. _What happened to that?_ Somewhere along the way he'd forgotten about that goal. Where did he get so distracted? Funnily, just like he was getting right now. Frank's focus snapped back to the man in the room, looking him over. Then he made the connection as to what had led him from his path. The smell of blood. It filled the room and his throat clenched in reaction. He'd let his needs consume him just like they were now. Eyes flicking back to the photo on the wall, clarity returned to him once again and the need to satiate his hunger ebbed.

Maybe this is what he needed. To have reality suddenly thrown in his face by getting zapped a million times and brought this mans normal house. Frank must have needed the shock to his brain to reignite the flame of hatred for the one he had promised to kill. Once more looking to the man, Frank made up his mind while he could still think properly. He was going to get out of here and somehow clear his mind. _How the hell are you going to do that? You know when you step out that door that hunger will consume you again._ His rationality butted in of its own accord. Though it had a point. Maybe he could use this guy to practice on. Frank wouldn't care if he killed him, not like he knew him or anything. The guy would kind of deserve after electrocuting him. He could always find another person to use as a training dummy, but if he could hold off his cravings and teach himself to stay focused then that would be a bonus. Their eyes made contact once again. Ray grew uncomfortable under the vampire's gaze and cleared his throat. 

"So, here's what we are going to do. I'm going to-"

"You know...I made a promise to myself once...." Frank interrupted, not really interested in what fluffy hair was going to say. "I promised that I would kill the one who made me what I am. I guess I got a little lost until your net zapped me all to hell." Ray stiffened slightly. "I can think clearly again for the first time in a long while. So needless to say I want to finish what I set out to do. Problem is...I can't stop." Frank went quiet for a few moments, both of them holding their breath. "I need you to...help me." Frank bit his tongue to hold back to bile in his mouth from asking someone lesser than him to help. He didn't have to ask, he knew that. Frank could've easily taken the man down and tied him up, but there would be screaming and fighting and useless energy wasted. He figured being blunt asking would be the easiest route to get what he wanted. Meanwhile, the words caught the afro headed man off guard. Had the vampire before him really just uttered those words? There was no hint of sarcasm in its voice and the look in its eyes was deadly serious. "Please help me." It asked again, its voice cracking slightly. 

"Wh-what?" Ray gulped, unsure of what to say to the vampire in the net.

"Help me...I can't do this anymore." It practically whimpered, Frank began to play it up. "I'm losing it." A single tear rolled down the vampire's cheek and suddenly that burning glare from before disappeared. Frank could've laughed loudly at his own ridiculous act. He changed his entire body language and slumped in to the couch more as if in defeat. The fluffy headed man bought it, or at least seemed to. 

"Losing what?" Ray whispered back, leaning forwards slightly from the chair he'd seated himself in near the couch. The tone of the vampire's voice seemed off, Ray figured it was probably an act right off the bat.

"Me. I'm losing me." The answer clawed at Ray's heart, at least he made it seem like it did. But really, here was this thing that killed people for food and had quite frequently attended the exclusive blood parties, in which humans are strung from the ceiling and cut so their blood runs out in streams in to the mouths and on to the floor of the club, that Ray had discovered quite on accident, begging him for help. Always being the sucker for sob story cases no matter how phony they seemed, Ray cautiously moved to the edge of the couch and sat down next to the vampire's legs. He didn't trust the creature in the net though, it was gnawing feeling that pulled at his gut. He figured that the vampire could be lying out his ass just to get him to remove the net and lower his guard. Which is probably why he played it safe and watched the thing's every move.

"I'll help you find yourself. I promise. In return...I want to know everything. You tell me everything you know about your kind and we have a deal." The young vampire nodded, another couple of tears rolling down its cheeks. Ray knew the tears were fake at that point, no one cried that much. Not even him when his dog died years ago.

Frank wasn't prepared to be taught a lesson by the man during their time together, he'd fully expected to just dispose of the man once he was done, but things changed. He grew to like the guy, he was funny and could play a mean rhythm on the guitar. He dared say they became very close friends. Frank was taught that what he'd become wasn't the end of the road. It was the beginning. There were more important things to fix than fixating on killing one bastard of a vampire. There wasn't anything to gain, what he'd done in the past wouldn't be fixed by eliminating the one who started the chain. Frank learned to move on and slowly others joined them and learned the same. He had everything to live for still, all thanks to Ray. 

Snapping out of his reverie, Frank looked up at the sky above him, swinging his legs in the air still. The stars shone bright way up in the heavens. He took a deep breath and sighed, closing his eyes and enjoying the cool night air. 

Inside the building, the two easily took the stairs two at a time, jogging briskly up them even while one was carrying someone else in his arms. The pair approached the door, knocking softly. 

"Who is it?" A strained voice called out from inside. They could picture their bushy haired friend, leaned over a struggling vampire as he tried to talk some sense in to the creature on the table. They could picture it, but it was too quiet to be true. The older of the two cleared his throat. 

"Ray, there are only two people in the city right now who actually knock on your door. The third just barges in when he feels like it." There was a small chuckle from inside, footsteps, then the click of the door unlocking, before finally it swung open. Ray's eyes instantly flicked to the mewling man in his friends arms.

"That's because the third still thinks he owns the place." Ray chuckled then quickly grew serious at the sight of Pete. "How new?" He whispered, reaching over and gently tugging down on Pete's hands making him lose his grasp on his ears briefly. He wailed in pain as the sounds around him magnified without his hands. Ray let go of his arms and Pete immediately clamped them down again. "You don't have to answer that. Mikey bring him over to the couch, lay him down." The trio made their way to the living room and Pete was laid on the cushions, immediately curling in to a ball, grasping the pillows and pressing them against his ears. Ray watched the man intently, hardly moving before letting out a tired sigh upon realizing something. "You've really gotten us in to a mess this time..." Mikey looked to his brother beside him, exchanging confused glances. Ray noticed and walked towards the bookshelf on the wall, grabbing a folder from it then tossing it to Mikey who snatched it out of the air with ease.

"Gerard, you need to leash your brother a little better. Keeps bringing in all these sad strays I can't take care of, but this time...he's really outdone himself. He brought me an ex-hunter." The Way brothers froze, staring at their human friend in absolute disbelief before their gazes turned to the whining man on the couch. Their fluffy headed friend sat down beside Pete on the couch. "His name is Pete Wentz...he used to just live with the hunters until he decided he didn't want to sit on the sidelines anymore. My intel says he wasn't that strong and he hasn't been a hunter long and now he won't be one ever again. Pretty ironic if you ask me. The hunter becomes the hunted. The biggest issue here though..." Ray shifted on the couch, reaching in to Pete's pocket and finding the slip of paper with Patrick's name on it. "...is that we have to figure out what to do with him. They're guaranteed looking for him right now. So we can hand him over to them, in which case they're probably just kill him on the spot, or we keep him here until he's able to control himself and then let him decide what to do?" 

Still grasping the thought of how intensely Ray had been keeping tabs on the hunters, Gerard almost forgot to respond to the question. "We can't let them see you. If we handed him over, it'd have to be somewhere else and not with you. They would kill him though, so do we send him to slaughter or help him and potentially risk them finding out about you?" Ray shrugged, he truly wasn't sure how to answer that question. He was one to help that's for sure, but it was a trickier situation knowing the hunters were involved. 

"I think we let him rest for the night, his hearing will adjust once he gets tired enough and passes out. We'll decide in the morning." Ray rubbed his temples with his pointer fingers and sighed heavily, standing up with a yawn. "I'm going to bed, keep an eye on him will you? Oh and tell Frank that it's his turn to do the laundry. I'm tired of washing the bloodstains out of his clothes." Turning on his heel, Ray slipped out of the room without another word, retiring to bed.

"I've got the laundry." Mikey started gathering the clothes up from a pile in the corner, knowing full well his short friend would never do the laundry, even if Ray threatened him. Gerard just watched his brother disappear from sight and listened to the sounds of the laundry getting started. With a quick motion, he tapped out a text to his friend on the roof, letting him know he could come inside. It only took a few seconds for Frank to drop down on the balcony outside Ray's fourth floor apartment, knocking on the glass until Gerard let him in. 

"All good?" He whispered to the petite man as they made their way back to the couch. 

"All good, no signs of anyone following us. How's he?" Frank glanced over Pete who had finally passed out due to exhaustion. 

"He's a hunter..." Frank's eyes widened, fists balling at his sides. "Or... ex-hunter... not really sure at this point."

"You've got to be kidding me." Gerard shook his head no and took a seat across from the couch. Frank remained frozen on the spot.

"Unfortunately not. Ray knew a lot about the guy, even knew he kept a slip of paper in his pocket. Pretty creepy how he finds that stuff out." Gerard picked absently at a stray string protruding from the chair he'd sat down in. "Frank, you're going to get an ulcer stressing like that. He's asleep. Highly doubt his friends are even looking for him now. I mean, they've gotta know what he is now, don't think they're going to care where he is." 

"What if they do though?" Frank hissed, then took a deep breath, relaxing himself before turning around to look at his friend. "What if they do come looking for him? Then what?"

"Then we figure it out."


	14. Chapter 14

"I don't like that answer." The pint-sized vampire brushed the fringe of his dark hair from his face, moving to sit on the arm of the chair his friend was resting in. Gerard, still pulling at the strings of the chair, smiled slightly as he did so.

"I figured you'd say something like that, but we don't have much of a choice here do we? You act tough Frank, but I know you wouldn't be able to just toss him to the wolves either. So, we help him at least get on his feet and then he can decide what to do himself." Gerard successfully pulled a long string out of the chair and began looping it around his fingers. Two pairs of hazel eyes flicked simultaneously over to the sleeping figure on the couch as it stirred slightly. 

"I still don't like it." Frank huffed, leaning back and letting his eyes close. Gerard only smiled more and settled down further in to the chair, getting comfortable as he prepared for a night watching the new vampire. 

Meanwhile, Patrick wandered down the alleyways with Andy and Joe in tow. There had to be a trace of their friend somewhere nearby, there were only so many routes he could've taken from the warehouse in to the city. His eyes strained in the dark, searching desperately for something, anything that could help them figure out where he'd gone. Patrick was afraid that as the night drew on, the further away Pete could get. Sighing heavily, he stopped at the end of the third alley in their search. His friends instinctively putting their backs to his, so they covered all directions. 

"You think he went further in?" Andy's voice was a mere whisper, trying to maintain their anonymity. Patrick shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the other two. Their weapons were held steady against their chests and he briefly had the need to look over his other shoulder to see Pete standing there like normal, but he was just disappointed. "Pat?"

"I don't know. He could be anywhere right now, he's probably moving too fast to even comprehend what he's doing right now. For all we know, he's already on the other side of the city." Joe briefly turned to look at his blonde haired friend's back, seeing his sagging shoulders and overall defeated looking posture. A quick glance to Andy showed he was thinking the same thing. Their best friend was not only missing, but no longer human. The three of them felt the weight of the blame was on their individual shoulders. Their leader was silent now, unmoving. Clearing his throat to grab his companions' attention, Joe started to move down the alley again.

"What if he's not running, what if he's just hiding somewhere nearby? His thoughts weren't exactly coherent looking when he left, I don't think he'd have the clarity to run across the city right now and dodge all of the groups simultaneously." Patrick seemed to lighten up a bit from what Joe could see, as he re-took the lead down the alley and made his way to the first open square of the city. They could hear the screams filling the air, some of ecstasy and others, well, they didn't sound like they were having too much fun. 

The trio made it to the edge of the buildings, peeking cautiously around the corners to see if there were any vamps too close by, but they were lucky enough to have at least a hundred foot radius all around them. The moment they stepped out on to the sidewalk though, the nearest small groups of vamps quickly dissipated upon seeing them, having learned to get out of their way as fast as possible. Some of the larger groups, however, stood their ground as the hunters grew closer to them, baring their fangs in warning. Patrick was unfazed as he passed by these groups, his mind was set on finding Peter and nothing else mattered. He was sure he could pass by one of the head honchos he'd been searching for and not give a damn at that point. 

"Patrick, slow down." Andy grasped his determined friend's sleeve and gave a soft tug. He was just shrugged off though, so he looked to Joe who seemed to be just as nervous as he was given the situation. They were slowly being followed by some of the larger groups of vamps and were drawing far too much attention as their slow, cautious walk turned to a brisk, heart pounding jog. "Pat!" Andy yelped as Patrick rounded a corner alone, the other two running faster to catch him, almost slamming in to him as they found him at a dead stop in front of a store. Their eyes followed his, looking through the dark store to a little back room that had a light shining from the other side of the door. "Someones stuck here tonight, I guess." 

"This is where Pete and I went shopping not too long ago. He likes the clothes here." Patrick glanced to his two friends, who were watching him closely. His hand flung out and he knocked on the door loudly, not caring about the attention he was drawing to the store. The light suddenly flicked off in the back room, engulfing the store in complete darkness. His hand flung out and pounded on the door more aggressively this time, causing quite the commotion before Andy yanked his hand away and held on tight, eyes meeting with Patrick's, who looked like he was about to scream at his friend for daring to stop him. 

"Stop and think Pat! You're getting emotional and not paying attention to your surroundings. Take a look!" Andy motioned to the suddenly quiet square, where all of the vampires were standing in a group less than fifty feet away, eyes trained on the three delicious looking humans. Patrick huffed and nodded to his friend, taking a deep breath and placing his back to the door, then fumbled through his pockets looking for his phone. When he finally wrestled it free from his pocket, he discovered he had a few missed calls from an unknown number, clicking on it his phone started dialing the number back and suddenly the phone from within the store started ringing out loudly. Eyes widening, he pressed his free hand against the glass, letting the stake he had fall to the ground. "Pat..." Andy swiftly picked it up, shoving it in his friend's back pocket. "We need to get out of here." The vamps had begun to advance slowly, each one looking to the other to see who would lunge first. Luckily, they were still wary of the hunters, so their movements were slow. Joe raised his net gun, preparing to fire if necessary. "PATRICK!" 

"No one should have this number!" Patrick listened again and again as the phone just kept ringing and ringing, suddenly there was a click on the other end. "PETE!?" He yelled in to the phone.

"N-no...this isn't...wait you said Pete right? Pete, the hunter Pete? Is this Patrick?" The mousey girl on the other line was speaking so quietly it was almost hard to make out what she was saying. Patrick was a bit let down that it wasn't his friend on the other end of the line, but did he really expect to find him so easily? Should've known better.

"Yes, this is Patrick. How did you get this number?" 

"He was here, Pete I mean. He was here all day then he left, he gave me your number to call you and let you know where he was, but no one answered. Then he took off, but I don't know where." Patrick hung up the phone, not caring enough to say anything back to her. Pete had been so close all day, probably holed up since the sun rose. 

"Pete was here today, all day long apparently." Patrick said to the others, finally turning around to see they were both poised at the ready, the vamps having drawn so much closer. Touching their shoulders, he grabbed the stake out of his back pocket and they slowly backed up down the sidewalk, keeping close to the wall behind them. The vamps followed them, some darting to the sides. They were ready to make their move. 

"GENTLEMEN! And ladies...please...is this anyway to take down prey? What a display of weakness when you all have to gang up on them like this. Tsk tsk." A calm, familiar voice rang out from behind the group of vampires. One that Patrick knew all too well. Bastard had to have something to do with Pete! Without thinking, he ran forwards in to the crowd of vamps who were quick to part the way upon the arrival of a certain somebody. 

"BRENDON! Where is he?!" Patrick reached the well dressed vampire, grabbing the front of his suit jacket in his fists. Brendon smiled at the angry hunter before him, the little shy boy he used to know was long gone in these eyes before him. 

"Well hello to you too Patrick, long time no see." Brendon grinned from ear to ear, displaying his fangs, with a swift flick of his wrist, he sent him flailing backwards on to the ground. "Do me a favor, don't touch the suit. I just had it made. Cost me quite a bit." Patrick was lifted off the ground by Joe and Andy who then immediately put their backs to his. "Now, what on Earth are you talking about?" Brendon casually walked around the group, smirking at each of them and twirling an entirely unnecessary cane as he did. The other vampires had moved off quite a bit with his presence. He was after all, one of the head leaders of the Dandies, and you did not mess with them. 

"Don't bullshit me, Urie. You know exactly what I'm talking about." Patrick growled, keeping his eyes fixed on the still teenage looking person before him. "Where. Is. Pete?" Brendon just smiled even wider. 

"What, did you lose your boyfriend already? I'm sorry to say, I haven't seen my old pal in quite a while. Should've kept a better eye on him. Maybe he ran off with some pretty girl again like he did that one time in high school, remember that Pat?" Patrick lunged forward but was knocked back again just as easily. "Learn your lesson the first time Patrick, that's your last warning." Brendon's eyes turned dark and he growled slightly before relaxing once again. "Ugh...fine. In a more serious tone, no I haven't seen him. Not that I care." He loved the angry look on Patrick's face, it was far too much fun making him upset. Knowing, in fact, exactly where Pete currently was just made the lie so much more enjoyable. 

"Brendon. He needs help. He-" Brendon held up his hand. 

"Let me take a wild guess, he was turned?" Patrick froze, just standing there quietly all of a sudden. Brendon could've been rolling on the ground laughing, but oh did he love theatrics. Instead he put the saddest look on his face that he could, lowering his cane to rest on the ground. "You're kidding." 

"No...I'm not. He was attacked the other night. We didn't get him home in time." This was all too delicious. Patrick's sad face was absolutely priceless. Why hadn't Brendon done this sooner? 

"I'm sorry Patrick. I may not be friends with him anymore, but that was never something I would wish upon him, or any of you. I don't owe you anything, but...in a nod to our past, I guess I can keep an eye out and an ear open for any sign of him." Patrick's eyes seemed to harden again as he nodded and Brendon almost couldn't contain himself from the pure joy he felt messing with his head. "Now, I suggest you go home for the night. I think you've drawn too much attention to yourself for once, don't you?" The hunters glanced around at the vampires watching them from a good distance. Brendon turned his back to them and began to stride off. Patrick took a few steps backwards before turning with Joe and Andy and running down the nearest alley to take them home. 

Watching from the top of a nearby building, after leaving Ray's house with the typical excuse that he couldn't sit still, Frank glared down at the finely dressed vampire walking below him. The moment the hunters were out of sight, he dropped down directly in front of the Dandy who wasn't even fazed for a moment, simply side stepping around the short vampire without a skip of a beat. 

"Hello Frank, come to accept my offer finally? We could still used someone of your talents." Brendon's sing song voice rang out as he walked past Frank casually, continuing down the center of the road. The smaller vampire walked beside him after taking a few brisk steps to catch up. 

"Piss off Urie. That was some show you put on back there." Frank brushed his hair from his eyes as he looked at the sleek man. 

"I don't know what you are talking about." Brendon's delighted smirk was unnerving. It spread from ear to ear like wildfire. 

"Bullshit." Hissing lightly, Frank's hand lashed out before Urie could react and snatched the twirling cane from the finely dressed man's hand, finally stopping him in his tracks. Brendon wasn't amused, his delight turned to anger with the flip of a switch and he just as quickly snatched it back, but remained in place. "What was that for?" Frank growled again, now that he finally had his rival's attention. A low growl rumbled through Urie's throat, but it wasn't enough to scare anyone off, just a sound of annoyance more than anything. 

"I like to play the sides, you know that Iero. Don't be stupid with me. You just like to listen to me spill my guts." 

"Yes, I do. Maybe one day you'll literally spill your guts and I hope to god I'm there to see it, but...I need to know what's going on. I know damn well that you are aware of Ray, you're not blind to what's been going on at his apartment. So I'm pretty positive when I say you know exactly where Pete is at this exact moment." A broad smile once again returned to Urie's face. 

"Of course I do." The man continued on his way down the road again with Frank in tow. 

"Then why lie if you like to play the sides so much? Why not just start something since you know the hunters would have a field day if they found out about Ray and more importantly that he had Pete?" The pair took a few turns off the main road, slipping down alleys before reaching another street, starting to draw closer and closer to the Dandies prime territory. 

"Because my friend, I really do think you would look good in a suit and I still want that to happen. If I have to tolerate your little friend's games with vampires then I will. I don't need the hunters coming after you. You're prime real estate and I'm looking to buy." A shiver washed down Frank's back every time Brendon started to talk about him like that. "If I have to wait forever then I will, but you'll come to me eventually and I'll gladly take you in. Your gift is one I'm most interested in. Till then, as a token of my generosity, I'll keep the hunters at bay and scrambling around till you decide their friend is ready to leave." Somehow Frank wasn't comforted by Brendon's words and he had a feeling that one day he'd find out just how far the lanky Dandy leader would take his need for Frank at his side. He was a collector, that was known. He surrounded himself with vampire's whose transformation not only brought out the blood thirsty beast inside them, but a little something extra too. As if becoming a vampire wasn't enough already. Frank's extra gift was something he kept hidden, only Brendon knew about it because only Brendon had been around when Frank hadn't learned to control his "gift" yet. Two pairs of hazel eyes met before the younger rolled his. 

"What? You want me to thank you or something?" He growled, slightly annoyed by the expectant look on the finer dressed of the two's face. 

"Well, it would be nice, but I won't force you to." Urie smiled happily, still walking down the road. Frank stopped and watched him walk a few more paces before putting his extra power to use and suddenly vanishing in a small cloud of smoke, re-appearing a few miles away back at the front of Ray's building. He quickly looked around to make sure he hadn't been seen before entering the building and heading upstairs.


	15. Chapter 15

Pete was still unconscious when Frank re-entered the musty smelling condo. His ears picked up on the soothing sound of Ray's snoring in the other room. He was glad that his friend was able to sleep peacefully each and every night. Other people in the godforsaken city they lived in weren't so lucky, always on guard with no vampires to protect them. One could say Ray was the luckiest human alive with his fanged entourage at his sides, not that he really ever left the condo complex anyways. 

"You're back already?" Gerard's soft voice emanated from a particularly dark corner of the room, the faint sound of pencil scratching against paper coming from the same direction. Frank was slightly annoyed that he hadn't paid more attention to the time and delayed himself a bit longer to make it seem like he actually did just need to go for a run like usual. His annoyance with Urie had apparently blocked the thought from his mind. "What's that smell?" A soft movement of feet and a slight breeze as he moved and Gerard was suddenly directly in front of Frank, his nose pressed against his friend's shoulder. With a small step back, Frank could see the anger flit across his shaggy haired friend's face.

"Gerard..." 

"No. Stop. Why do you smell like him? WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE URIE!?" Gerard's usually delicate voice turned abrasive in an instant. There was a past hidden behind his malice, a rather disturbing confrontation occurred between the dark haired Way and Urie a while back. The scent filling his nostrils now was enough to make him want to throw the nearest thing out the window, which would unfortunately be Frank so he forced his hands to remain at his sides whilst his eyes shot daggers in to the shorter statured man's pupils. 

"Gerard...calm down..." The way Frank tried to soothe him like he would one of his old dogs was infuriating in of itself. He should know better than to dare come back here, back to Gerard and pretend as if nothing happened when the pungent smell of cologne still clung to his attire. 

"Don't tell me to calm down." Gerard hissed through his teeth which ached at the thought of sinking in to Brendon's flesh and tearing out his throat. He'd deserve it after all. _The bastard ruined Mikey's life._

"Gerard please!" Frank's hand pressed against his heated friend's chest as if to maintain the current distance between them. "Gerard...I just happened to come across him okay? He was messing with the hunters and I just happened to overhear, so I dropped in on him to try and find out what was going on...okay? I only did it to find out what he knew, to see if the hunters were looking for their friend...alright?" Gerard looked like he was literally about to boil over, which was quite comical given that his cheeks could only tinge slightly pink in his rage. But those eyes, those eyes had turned to black pools, swirling with anger and it disturbed Frank to the core. When his taller friend's foot shuffled forward slightly, he flinched in preparation for a swift punch to the face, but none came. Instead those Converse clad feet shuffled backwards and turned, carrying the brewing man out of the room with a slam of the door. 

"Yikes. What'd you do to piss him off this time?" The sudden voice from the opposite end of the room had Frank jumping backwards. "Jesus, he must've been really mad if you're that scared." Mikey chuckled softly as he slipped past the sleeping newbie on the couch and made his way towards Frank. It was almost impossible to see the lanky kid's expression drop when the scent made its way to him, he never really showed much emotion anyways. "Oh..." It was the only sound that Frank needed to hear to know how angry the younger probably was deep inside. 

"Yeah." There were no other words shared between the two, just silence as Frank made his way to the armchair Gerard had been picking the strings out of earlier, flopping down and sighing as the cushions sucked him in. "You trust me when I say I hate Urie as much as you guys do, right?" Mikey moved silently over to the window, pulling the curtain just barely aside so he could peek out. 

"I know you do. Problem is though, that's the fourth time you've come back here reeking of him." His voice seemed to tremble slightly as he spoke. Frank had made him upset again. It was very hard to make the younger Way upset to begin with, but Frank seemed to be able to do it quite easily, it was a saddening ability he just couldn't seem to rid himself of. Having spent his life with a happy family and canines galore right up until his undeath, he'd never known the sadness, that would eventually follow him around like one of his dogs, even existed. Until he met the Ways. 

_Frank was the first person to be attacked and turned in his neighborhood back in New Jersey. People weren't sure what to think or even what he really was in the first place, this even paler, impossibly fast, fanged young man. Most just thought he had some disease. His own parents had just completely disregarded it, however, and acted as if it'd never even happened. The house was adjusted to fit his new needs, as they discovered them along the way. The sun had become incredibly painful in every way, literally ripping in to his flesh within moments of being outside and blinding his sensitive eyes. Luckily they discovered he healed just as quickly as he was wounded, they had all sighed in huge relief at that one. All curtains were pinned closed in his room and a towel would get stuffed under the door to prevent the light from the hallway from seeping in while he slept through the day. His mother even changed her entire sleep schedule so she would be awake with him at night and spend a few of the evening hours with his father before he went to bed. It lasted that way for a while before things started getting complicated. Frank's mood decreased dramatically as time went by, he started lashing out at first in frustration because everything he normally ate had slowly started to taste like ash in his mouth. He got through a month of eating the usual vegetarian diet, his mother had always so graciously made for him every day, before his sense of taste started to wane. Frank's growing hunger made him unusually aggressive as more time passed. The dryness grew in his throat and despite his best attempts at quenching it with gallons of water and various other liquids, but to no avail. He'd begun to lash out at his mother, blaming her for what happened to him before quickly apologizing, not knowing what had come over him. There were a few tense moments when he'd pinned his father against the wall, literally holding him above his head before letting him go. That's when they discovered the strength he now possessed and when the downward spiral began as his parents slowly started getting nervous of this new version of their son. Slowly they spent less and less time with him, letting him do as he pleased during the night and keeping their distance as he did so. That alone took a major toll on Frank's demeanor. Horrible thoughts began clouding his mind, whispers in his head begging to be fed._

_There was one night that started his downward spiral for good though. The night he met Gerard Way. After sneaking out during the night, waiting for his parents to fall asleep before he threw his window open and jumped out, landing like a cat on the balls of his feet. His mother had gone back to her regular sleep times as the distance grew between them. Eventually the door to their room would start being locked during the evening hours. Surprisingly though, he didn't care. Actually, he quite liked having the night to himself now. Frank would run down the sidewalk as fast as he could go, enjoying the exhilarating release of energy before turning and running back before slipping back up in to his room with one swift jump up and through the window. That night was different though. He'd finished his run in one direction, stopping at the nearby park and had started to turn to head back when his ears picked up on the distant sound of muffled screams. His throat suddenly closed up and his stomach felt like it dropped, all senses suddenly on high alert. For some reason he headed towards the sound though, instead of heading away from it like his brain wanted him to, no, screamed at him to. Honestly thinking about it, he did a lot of things he definitely knew better than to._

_Frank snuck across the grass towards the other side of the park, the part that was always enveloped in complete darkness during the night, the tendrils of light from the streetlamps seemed afraid to venture past the sidewalk. When he was still a weak little human being, he would avoid that side like the plague. As much as he had a deep love for the dark and mysterious, there was just something about that black abyss at night that every fiber of his being drug him away from._ Wait, 'weak little human being?' What are you saying Iero? _He shook his head, continuing on. The muffled screams were dying down quickly, his pace picked up as he started to lose the sound. It wasn't hard to find the source though once he neared it. Frank's new enhanced eyesight, another perk he'd discovered on one of his first night excursions, easily picked up on the dark hunched over figure and what appeared to be another figure lying in front of the first on the ground. The body on the ground was slowly twitching, just subtle little movements from its hands and feet. Drawing closer, he could see that the crouching person was holding the torso of the other up in their lap, their face pressed to the second's neck. Frank felt the sinking sensation intensify as he drew closer, within fifty feet of the pair now. Just as he started to turn back and get the hell out of there, a scent hit him. A delightful, metallic fragrance that started to fill the air around him, flooding his nostrils with its pungency._ What is that delicious smell? _His feet pulled him off the trail across the dew covered grass back towards the hunched figure, a distinct squishing sound filling his ears as he now stood behind the being. As he knelt down to push the figure aside and claim the delicious smelling body as his own, a low snarl and the flash of a fist sent him flying backwards, knocking his head against a tree with a sickening crack. From that moment, the switches were off._

 _Frank's mind shut down every emotion, every thought, everything that made him human and left him with just his instinct. Instinct driven by a new, fiery hunger. A predator ready to fight for its right to the prey, triggered by the blow to the back of his head. The hunched figure slowly stood up, turning to face Frank, who was quick to his feet, blood flowing down the back of his neck from the rapidly healing crack in his skull. In a brief moment of clarity, Frank's humanity screamed out upon seeing the other creature with the thick red fluid running down its front._ BLOOD! He killed that person! He fed on her! Run! _Despite his momentary humanity, the raw feeling in his throat grew at the sight, saliva building up in his mouth and coating his sharp fangs and tongue and it was immediately switched off again. A low growl bubbling up from deep in his chest, an instinctive warning to the other fanged being to back off. It was returned though, an equally guttural sound ripping up the other's throat before he lunged forwards towards Frank at a blinding speed, colliding with him in a tangle of limbs. It was an all out brawl over the body spilling its blood in the grass with neither party in their right mindset._

_The cracking of branches as they collided through the trees and crunching of bone as they threw punches and kicks at one another attracted attention to the dueling creatures of the night and just as quickly as it had started, it ended. The still beating heart of Frank's opponent held in the palm of another's bloody hand._

_"Annoying." The heart holder growled out before casting the bleeding organ aside, it's previous host not even having enough time to collapse to the ground before the beating hunk was thrown away. Frank's animalistic mindset could care less at this point, his body was driven by hunger, flinging him forwards in a flash to the slowly dying human that had started the whole thing. His fangs sinking deep in to the bleeding wound, ripping it open further as he bit down harder, sucking down every ounce of fluid that dared gush out. Just as he'd started to really pull a good amount of blood from the flesh, his shoulder was gripped tight and he was flung backwards across the ground, rolling a few times before his fingers dug in to the grass to stop him. "Extremely annoying." The other growled deeper this time. The raging fire in Frank's throat had only slightly died down, enough at least to allow his conscious to slowly regain control._

_"Easy..." A second voice warned the first as he was approaching Frank, yanking him up on to his feet by his hair. "Gerard." It warned again, stepping out of the shadows to stand by the first. "He's new, go easy on him."_

_"They were attracting too much attention. I can't have them ruining this for us, Mikey. We just got here." The grip on Frank's hair tightened and yanked up again, eliciting a scream from the short statured vampire._

_"Like he knows what he's doing! Come on, let off!" The skinnier of the two moved forwards and freed the dirty black, blood coated locks from his brother's hand, pushing his dark haired sibling backwards. "Doesn't look like he's ever even fed before tonight. Still has that look in his eyes. So lay off." The obviously younger of the two pushed his glasses slightly up on his nose and locked eyes with Frank who's mind was finally realizing the severity of what just happened._

I DRANK HER BLOOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! _Frank's eyes widened, his mind started to scream, tears starting to flow down his cheeks, turning red as they reached his chin, collecting the blood that ran down from his bottom lip to the top of his shirt. "Oh...oh g-god..."_

_"Gerard." The younger, sandy haired man looked to the darker, brooding one who immediately shot daggers back at him._

_"Don't even think about it. Just get rid of him and lets go." The older started to trudge off across the grass, wiping his blood covered hand off on the shirt of the dead human before continuing on. Frank's face was covered in wet streaks as tears cascaded down from his eyes upon realizing what he'd done. Two hands landed on his shoulders, a heavy sigh escaping the scrawny man as he held them in his palms._

_Mikey was well prepared to end Frank's life in that moment, knowing full well it was a risk to have a new vampire tagging along while they tried to keep themselves out of the public eye. It was a risk just having a newbie in the area at all, but looking in to those hazel pools he couldn't help but feel sorry for the short man. He remembered vividly what this stage was like when he'd been a new vampire. That same wild look in his eye after the first time he'd fed and killed someone. He remembered the horror that washed through him for days after as he stared down at his blood stained clothes, too afraid to return home. It was like looking in a mirror at that moment - well a shorter, ink covered mirror of himself at least - and that's when he made the decision to take Frank under his wing. Mikey had tried it before with another, unfortunately it didn't last very long before he'd lost control of his protégé when the girl decided she liked the kill more than she cared to remain hidden, therefore requiring his older brother to end her sad existence. He wouldn't let this young guy before him fall to the same fate._

_Frank didn't go willingly though. He had bolted the moment Mikey took his hands off his shoulders, fleeing back to his house and in to his room just before the sun rose. He could hear the shuffling of his parents throughout the day, the clicking of his dogs nails on the wood floors as they scampered up and down the hall, stopping occasionally to whine outside his door. Frank was unable to stop his mind from racing from the night before, yet almost able to still feel the flesh tearing around his fangs, saliva flooding his mouth. His teeth started to ache as his thoughts began to swirl singularly around the memory of the sensation. The footsteps of his parents, as they moved about, faded away as he tuned in to the sound of their hearts beating. The waterfall like rush of blood through their veins was the kindling to the fire in his throat. Frank's limbs started to itch with the need to follow the steady sound and sink his fangs in to their flesh. Visions of the blood flowing down his throat and coating his insides made his eyes roll back in their sockets, a pure moment of ecstasy. He shook his head, realizing where his mind was and sat upright, gripping the sheets tight in his fists._

_"Wh-what are you thinking Frank! They're your parents! People! You love them!" His lungs sucked in air as panic swept over him like a flood. Moving to the mirrored doors of his closest, he gripped the edges of the wooden frame surrounding the doors, as if to anchor himself down. His eyes found themselves in the mirror. They seemed to burn brighter than they'd ever been before, boring in to their own reflection. The pale skin on his eyelids and the tops of his cheeks seemed to be tinged dark red, almost as if he hadn't slept in a week. Then there was the slight glimpse of his fangs between his slightly parted lips. Slowly, he pulled them back to reveal the double set of fangs lurking behind. The outer two, where his canines had been, were longer than the inner set nestled beside them, but all were equally sharp. Fingers dug deeper in to the wood as he stared at his own reflection, horrified by what he saw, until it splintered, drawing blood from his hands. "Th-this can't be me..." He took a few steps away, relinquishing his hold on the frame._

_"Frank?" His mother's mousey voice called from the other side of the door. "Honey? What...what are you doing awake, dear?" The knob started to turn and Frank flung himself backwards in to the opposing wall._

_"Mom, don't come in! Please!" He mewled but the handle turned nevertheless and the door swung open to reveal his mother. Standing there in her long pajamas like she always wore around the house, her eyes widened upon seeing the dent Frank had unknowingly caused in the wall throwing himself back. He watched as her eyes flicked to the damaged door frame around his closet. "Mom...please...leave..." He begged, but his ears were starting to tune in to the sound of her blood pumping through her body, warm and fresh and oh so close, all he had to do was reach out and- "NO! MOM! PLEASE!" He cried out now, pushing himself backwards harder, but she only came closer. "MOM STOP! MOM!"_

"MOM!" Frank screamed out in his sleep, Ray was there in a heartbeat, having heard Frank start mumbling a few moments ago he'd already wandered closer to the vampire fast asleep in one of the padded wooden boxes he kept in the back room. They had to be enclosed completely to protect them from the stray rays of sunlight that occasionally peeked through the curtains as the air conditioning shifted them. Frank had fallen asleep unknowingly in the early morning hours in that dilapidated chair, Gerard having to pick him up and carry him to the back room before climbing into his own box for the day. Now Frank was screaming bloody murder from within. 

"Frank! Wake up!" Ray yanked the top open on the box, careful to put himself between Frank and the window to block the little tendrils of light from reaching Frank's sensitive skin. He was rolling around, his eyes still screwed shut but fingers clawed at the wooden sides of the box. Ray could hear the others stirring within their boxes from the raucous. The only one not moving was the one Pete had been placed in by Mikey.

"Ray? What's going on?" Gerard moaned from within his confinement.

"Frank! Come on, wake up!" Ray grabbed the vampires arms and gently shook him before Frank's eyes finally flung open, reeling widely around before landing on Ray, who sighed heavily, releasing him and leaning back just slightly. "You okay?"

"Uh...y-yeah...yeah...just...bad dream. Wow, haven't had one of those in a while." Frank's body was practically vibrating, his lungs choking down air to calm himself down. 

"Frank?" Gerard whispered, the top of his box pushed up just enough so he could see Ray leaning over Frank's open box. 

"I'm good Gerard, I'm good." Frank moved to sit up but Ray gently pushed him back down.

"Sun is still up, it's noon." Frank sighed, frowning slightly. Ray smiled lightly down at his friend. "Go back to sleep, I'll wake you all up when the sun goes down." Shaking his head, Frank propped himself up on his elbows, careful to stay low enough so Ray's body still blocked the light.

"Don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep after that. Hold the curtains together, I'll hop out and meet you in the kitchen." Ray glanced to the dark eyes still peeping out from the dark inside of the closest box. Gerard nodded to him then slowly laid back down, closing the lid as he did. Standing up, he headed to the curtains, hair bouncing as he trod across the room. Gripping the drapes and holding them tightly together in the center to block the little stray strands of sunlight as Frank climbed out of the box and dashed out in to the kitchen. 

Ray often wondered what it felt like when the sun touched their skin. He knew it probably hurt like hell since they were so afraid to get near it. Mikey had practically danced across the living room as he skirted around the tendrils of light during one of the few days he couldn't sleep. Ray had also seen first hand how it immediately ate away at their flesh, devouring it like a child would candy. He'd heard their pained screams as the unlucky homeless vamps sought shelter from it, but what did it really feel like? Did it feel like their skin was being peeled away from the muscle underneath, piece by agonizing piece? Did it feel like they'd been cast in to a raging fire that couldn't be extinguished? It was obviously a feeling he'd never come to understand, but nonetheless it was a thought that tormented his mind. Their pain and suffering caused by such a life giving element. The vampires truly were monsters, but they were monsters that needed his help and he was glad to give it. For they had been regular people like him at one point in time, just unfortunate enough to fall to the demon's venom and becomes slaves to it's hunger.

Letting go of the curtains, Ray made his way out of the room, weaving around the closed boxes as he went. Frank was sitting on the counter in the darkest corner of the kitchen, gripping a blood bag Ray had procured from a local hospital tightly in one hand, a straw punched through it like it was a Capri Sun. The pit of his stomach lurched from momentary nausea at the thought of what his friend was drinking down. Ray should've been used to it by now, but it was just so disturbing he didn't think he'd ever get to that point. 

"Sorry..." Frank whispered, seeing the slightly sick looking grimace on his friend's face. Quickly finishing off the bag, he tossed it in the trash reserved just for those bags, they'd burn them later in the fireplace, another measure to keep Ray's secret safe. 

"No need to apologize, just me being me." Ray let out a soft chuckle then went about starting to clean the kitchen. Taking a wet rag and wiping down the counter tops and table. Dust had a habit of building up quickly in his apartment as half of the amenities were never used. Occasionally though, his landlord would pop in for surprise visits to ensure his property was being well taken care of, so he kept the place as neat as possible and would lock the door where his friends slept, keeping on with the ruse that he'd "lost the key years ago and would fix it before he moved out." Not that he was planning on moving out any time soon. 

"Want some help?" Frank piped up behind Ray, leaning against the fridge as he watched the fluffy haired man wipe down the kitchen surfaces. 

"Actually yeah, if you could mop the floors that would be great. Rogers hasn't come by in a while, starting to feel like he could literally pop in any minute now." Ray scrubbed vigorously at a red stain on the kitchen table, probably a drop of blood from one of his friend's bagged meals the wood had thoroughly soaked up. Any more of these stains and he'd have to literally sand the whole table down and stain the wood an even darker shade of brown than it already was, or maybe he'd just stain it dark red so no one would ever notice. 

"Yeah sure, mop is in the pantry right?" Ray nodded, his hair bouncing as he did. Frank made his way across the kitchen to the pantry, careful to stay a little to the left to avoid the light streaming in from one of the small windows behind the table. Grabbing the mop and bucket, he took them over to the sink, filled the bucket with soap and water, then set it on the floor, dunking the mop into the soapy mixture before starting to swish it across the tile. He heard Ray chuckle a little bit before looking up and seeing his smirk. "What?" Frank couldn't help but smirk back at him, Ray's smile was infectious. 

"Nothing, just realizing how funny it is to have a vampire up during the day and mopping the floors. Makes you seem so human." Ray went back to scrubbing before finishing the sentence. Frank frowned a little the moment his friend wasn't looking. 

"Well, I was human at one point, remember?" Frank's eyes followed the mop's movements as he pushed it across the floor, sure to get every little speck of dirt he could find. 

"No, I don't remember. I didn't know you then." They both looked up at the same time, eyes locking on the others. Frank could tell that Ray thought he was upset by the comment the moment it had slipped from his tongue, but he smiled reassuringly. He was hurt, a little, but there was no reason to get mad at Ray for it, after all it wasn't his fault that Frank was the way he was. 

"I was still an asshole, so you didn't miss much." Ray's smile returned and they both went back to cleaning. 

Across the city, the blonde haired leader of the hunters paced across the training room floor in their warehouse. A notebook lay open on the weapons table with a bunch of poorly drawn buildings and streets scratched out in his haste to draw a map of the city. All of the different vampire territories were marked with red X's and the store from earlier was circled in blue. Patrick was determined to find out why the owner of the shop had allowed Pete to remain with them during the previous day. Despite being his best friend, he was a vampire now and he couldn't help but wonder why a human would let him take refuge with them. That wasn't the most important thing on his mental list though. They had to find Pete, then they had to figure out what to do with him once they did. 

"Maybe we could lock him up? Keep him safe until someone finds a way to reverse the process?" Andy called out across the room where he was throwing punches at the punching bag hanging from the rafters. 

"Don't be stupid, there's no way to reverse the process. His heart stopped. Technically he's dead already. Only thing that would happen, if they did find a way to separate the venom from his DNA, would be his immediate death. Two days now with no heartbeat, it's probably already shriveling up." At that Patrick's pacing stopped and his eyes narrowed, glaring over at Joe who was tinkering with one of the net guns. 

"Shut up." He growled out at his friend, who immediately turned to look at him. 

"I'm just being honest, Pat. We both want him back as much as you do, but what are we going to do once we have him? Huh? None of us have even come up with a way to keep him contained or more importantly, how we are going to keep him from killing. We just rushed out last night and got ourselves cornered without thinking." Patrick took a step forward, rage filling his body as his curly haired friend spoke. Joe threw his hands up. "Easy, Pat."  


"Joe is right and we both know it. Pete is a vampire now, as much as we want to find him, we need to also think things through. There needs to be a plan once we do get a hold of him. Maybe we should spend some time building a cage and stocking up on holy water. We could soak the nets in the water too. Probably would help keep him down longer for transport at the very least." Andy kept rambling on and Patrick completely tuned him out, forcing himself to relax and return to his notebook, flipping through the pages of notes he'd accumulated over time. A particular page stood out from the rest. The day he found out about the "enhanced vampires." The ones who had developed superpower like abilities after their transformation. Briefly he wondered if Pete would be one of them. _He already had the ability to talk someone's head off, imagine that being enhanced._ A small giggle escaped him and his entire mood lightened. Pete would be ok. He would make sure of it, whether that meant helping him through it or ending his suffering entirely. Patrick would make sure he was happy first either way, by any means necessary. Pete deserved that at the very least. 

"I have a plan." Patrick stood up, taking the notebook over to Joe and waving Andy over to join them. The pungent smell of sweat hovered around his heavily tattooed friend, who was panting from his workout. "Wow...you stink." Pat grumbled under his breath, receiving a play punch to the shoulder.

"Let's see if you still smell like sunshine and daisies after an hour workout." Andy challenged, grinning at the slightly pudgy blonde. 

"Yeah, yeah. Listen. You're both right about Pete. As much as I don't want to admit it, he is just like the rest of them. He won't be able to control his hunger and we won't be able to trust him. So, we'll go with your ideas, Andy. We'll re-design the nets, make them stronger and larger for capturing a vampire, soak them in holy water to make them more effective. Joe, you can build the cage, reinforce it as much as possible. I haven't seen a vamp able to do any kind of catastrophic damage to steel, but who really knows. We can gather up all the material we need from the old steel mill. They should still have a bunch of stuff lying around we can use. Joe, you and I can take the moving truck out back over there tomorrow and see." Joe nodded, looking to Andy and then to Patrick who was scribbling down what he was saying in his notes. "I know a guy with a welding machine, maybe he can help you build the cage. He's pretty good with cars too so maybe I can get him to fix ours up a bit, maybe even swap the glass out with polycarbonate. Getting tired of replacing the windows and cleaning glass shards out of the car when a vamp decides to dive through the windshield at us. We're gonna need that car to find Pete too. We can only cover so much ground in a night on foot." Patrick wrote down a phone number quickly next to that bullet point in his list, circling it with red pen to make sure he remembered to call. "I'll make a trip to the store and pick up some more lumber, make some more stakes and wooden bullets." 

"I can go by the church and get some more holy water from the preacher." Andy chimed in, leaning over the table, one hand grasping a stray wooden bullet. 

"We're going to need everything we've got. I'm sure we'll have to pass through a few of the major territories and I'm not willing to go without a full arsenal. Once that's all done, we'll put all of our effort in to finding him, if we haven't already. We can do daytime searches and small nighttime outings while we work, but no major runs until we're ready." Sighing heavily, Patrick laid the pencil down, scanning the small list. 

"What if we find him before we're finished?" Andy piped up again, standing up straight to look his friend dead in the eyes. It was a very serious question, that would also require some thought. Patrick had already been dreading that question. He quickly cooked up a response, though, just to put it aside for now. 

"We keep him down by any means necessary. He's our friend...or he was...we at least need to give him a fighting chance." With the basic outline of the plan written down, the three separated to start their individual tasks. Patrick couldn't help but wonder though if all of this was a mistake to even think about. Maybe it would just be better to put their friend to rest, save him from the monster he'd become. If there was even the slightest chance Pete could recover his humanity, though, then it was worth fighting for.


End file.
